


Ground Beneath Her Feet

by mindlesshappy



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Sabrina actually wants to be a witch, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, not sure if this will follow the actual storyline at all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2020-01-31 21:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 72,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18600055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindlesshappy/pseuds/mindlesshappy
Summary: Sabrina is born out of a miracle - one that she wishes would repeat for her, but when she is destined for someone else, how much can she resist before her heart decides to give in. Alternatively, Nick is Sabrina's soulmate, but she really just wants Harvey to be it. Also, in the backseat are all the other possible ships, getting their own soulmate glories.





	1. Chapter 1

To anyone passing by on the highway near the Sweetwater River, Greendale was like any other town, the lives of its people as ordinary as the ones in Riverdale, across the pond. But it was far from the truth. You see Greendale had a peculiarity that only a few places around the world shared – it was home to both witches and mortals, and the former had called it home for close to two decades when the coven on their biennial rotation had come back to town after a century, while the latter were blissfully unaware of it.

In the middle of all of this was another odd peculiarity – a half-witch and half-mortal 15-year old girl – who lived in her own world, made of the best of both – Sabrina Spellman.

It would have been like any of the Octobers past, the town was always covered in gloomy dark clouds, the people spending their free time at the movies catching hours and hours of horror movie marathons, the weather being indecisive if it wanted to be cold and windy or rainy and morose... but not this time – this time for Sabrina most of this did not matter much, these days her mind kept wandering off to an upcoming once in a lifetime event that the mortal world was oblivious to – her dark baptism. It was a day in a witch’s life, on their sixteenth birthday when they promised their lifelong devotion to Satan, their Dark Lord, their one true God, and signed away their souls in his Book of the Beast. It was the day when Sabrina would have to choose between the witch world of her family and the human world of her friends, and that day was fast approaching.

 

“Good morning aunties, Ambrose.” Sabrina said curtly, her usual cheeriness and spring in her step missing that morning. Her aunt Hilda came forth to but a bowl of porridge before her and began to say something before thinking otherwise. She was probably planning to ask how she slept like she usually did, but Sabrina was sure the dark circles underneath her baggy eyes would have said it all.

“Oh dear, trouble sleeping?” Hida asked instead. Zelda looked up from her Chinese newspaper and narrowed her eyes at her niece. “I should get you a rabbit’s foot to put under your pillow tonight.”

“She must be excited about the weekend and the ceremony. When I had my baptism I could hardly sleep a wink the whole week from excitement.” Zelda brushed off her sister’s concern before going back to her paper. The thing is, what seemed like jitters to them, was really a nervousness Sabrina would rather not talk to them about.

Sabrina refrained from making any comments and the conversation just naturally flowed from there without her inputs, bouncing around topics from preparations for the ceremony to the bodies that had to be prepared for the funeral to be held in their funeral parlour that evening. Between all of this, while Sabrina concentrated on her breakfast, Ambrose studied her from the top of his book, observing her without her knowing.

“Penny dreadful for your thoughts?” Ambrose jolted her from her thoughts, from his perch atop the bannister as Sabrina walked towards her room to grab her book bag. “You’re not having doubts, are you, about your dark baptism? Because you seemed quite unenthused just now when madams Jekyll and Hyde made shopping plans.”

“I am… but I am also a bit…” Sabrina came to a halt after climbing a few stairs and stood there against the railing, facing her big brother, not really meeting his eye.

“Nervous? It’s alright to be a little nervous.”

“Were you?”

“What? About going into the woods, signing my name in the Dark Lord’s book? Of course, even I had butterflies. Tell me honestly cous, what are you more nervous about, signing away your soul or getting your soulmark?”

“I…”

“Cousin! You can’t seriously be worrying about that!” Ambrose took a few steps towards her and put a hand on her shoulder, the way he had done for so long that she had to resist grabbing onto his sleeve like she used to when she was a kid.

“I’m not worried about that.” Sabrina folded her arms against her chest and tried to act nonchalant but she knew Ambrose had caught on to her lies, from the way he bent forward a little to bring his face to her level looking straight into her eyes.

“You’re worried it is not going to be Harvey.”

“I… I am. I am hoping it is like Mom and Dad, that he is the rare mortal that I am marked upon. But what if I am not Ambrose?”

“Have you not seen it yet? Whether he has your mark or not?”

“I haven’t yet. I am waiting for the right time.” Sabrina said walking away from him and climbing the rest of the stairs, trying to put the conversation behind them.

“There will never be a right time Sabrina. Either you do something soon to find out or you accept your marked soulmate the day you get baptised.” Ambrose was however not done with the conversation as he followed her up the stairs. Sabrina was thankful that their aunties were currently in the basement, working since she had no idea how they would react if they overheard them.

“You will not understand Ambrose, you have never really cared about your mark.”

“That is true, but that is also a way you could choose for yourself if Harvey isn’t your marked soulmate. After your dark baptism you’re going to age slower, live longer, Harvey, on the other hand, won’t. You could just defer looking for your mate in his lifetime.” Ambrose cut off Sabrina’s path and made her look at him. “You’ve always wanted to be trained in the unseen arts and become as powerful as your father. You’ve always wanted to belong to the world your family lives in fully. Why are you letting a small mark deter you from it now?”

“I know!” Sabrina sighed, knowing full well that her fears were far more complicated than what she could expressly explain to him. “I really do want all those things, I do. But I can’t stop loving Harvey and I don’t want to have to let him go and I don’t want to compromise.”

Ambrose had a sad smile when he heard her, stepping closer he fixed her collar before finally saying, “I have been under house arrest with our aunties for seventy-five years, forbidden from ever leaving the family grounds. If I ever do have a soulmate somewhere in the witch world, there isn’t a way I could get to them. From where I am, finding love, even as a compromise, doesn’t sound like a bad bet.” He put a hand on her shoulder once again before walking away.

 

Sabrina lazily walked into her room, not wanting to get to school with the last conversation with Ambrose playing in her head on repeat. She sat down on the floor next to her bed and pulled out a box from underneath it. These were the kind of times she missed her parents the most – days when she wished she had someone to talk to. She opened the box and traced her hand over the useless put priceless knickknacks instead before picking up the worn leather codex from it, cracking it open to the page where she forever kept her bookmark, rereading the words that were imprinted in her mind.

_‘When the first followers signed their names in the Dark Lord’s book, he bestowed upon them a dark and beautiful gift – that of a soulmark. He told his followers how the false god in his ugly machinations had planned to create for the people who followed him a soulmate, a person meant to complete and fulfill them, and then cruelly sent them into this world without the knowledge of them or of how to find them. And mortals, who revered that false god, wandered around all their lives, lost and incomplete, without ever finding them. But our Dark Lord, the unholy, who loves us in his own image, expressed his wish for us to find our soulmates that he had created for us, and for this he gave us the marks on our skins which glowed upon being touched by our soulmates, therefore giving us years and years blissful unhallowed happiness with them._

_In the year 5666 A.D. (Anno Diaboli), a miracle happened when the High Priest of the Church of Night in America claimed that a mortal was his hell-chosen soulmate. The council held a long closed-door meeting before deciding to examine Father Edward Spellman and the mortal who went by the name of Diana. The Anti-Pope himself examined the two marks thoroughly and extensively before declaring the claims true and gave his profane blessings to the unlikely couple to be married in unholy matrimony. Though a horde of witches and warlocks looked upon this union with thinly veiled antipathy, this union ushered in an era of witches who were more comfortable and forthcoming with the idea of intermingling with the likes of mortals both for pleasure and in hopes of seeking out more such possible miraculous mates. However, no other such claims passed the scrutiny of the council and the case of Spellmans was considered a solitary miracle bestowed upon them by the Dark Lord for their devotion.’_

She smiled upon the mention of her parents just like she had done the first time Aunt Zelda had given his this book after their deaths, to show to her just how much of a special and precious girl she was. Closing the book, she went onto her knees and prayed for a miracle – for this miracle.

 

Sabrina walked into Baxter High with only a few minutes to spare which she decided to utilize by swinging by her locker to grab her books, which was why she was least expecting to find Harvey standing against the very same locker, staring at his watch again and again.

“Brina! You’re late!” Harvey said incredulously as the blonde came into his line of sight, she gestured for him to move aside as she hurried to get her things out.

“I got held up. But why are you standing here? I thought you’d be in homeroom by now.” She said hurriedly closing her locker and walking towards their class before realizing that Harvey had not fallen into step next to her.

-“I wanted to talk to you.” Harvey’s nervousness made Sabrina forget everything that was rushing through her mind. A small barely-there voice in her head was saying, ‘you’re late for class’, but the look in Harvey’s eyes was ringing in her head like fire alarms going off, this was it, this was the breakup that had been inevitably coming. It took her a few seconds to realize that the ringing wasn’t just in her head, but also outside, the school bell had gone off. “We’ll talk at the end of the day, alright.” Harvey shuffled on his feet and then turned around to head to his class. And this was how Sabrina got her second tardy of the month from Ms. Holliday.

Theo looked up from his spot as a dazed Sabrina walked into class, mechanically apologizing to the teacher and heading to her seat next to him, her face ashen, and heart thumping in her chest.

“Brina? All okay?” Theo rubbed his hand against her upper arm, breaking her trance, whispering to his friend.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Sabrina broke out of her trance and pushed the thoughts out of her head. She would wait for Harvey to say it and only believe it then – if only lunch would come sooner. She wished her and Harvey had any classes together in the first half of Monday as they did on most of the days of the week, but it was the only day of the week when they both had filled their first halves with their own electives and AP classes. Harvey couldn’t have chosen a less fortunate day.

 _‘Meet me by the bleachers during lunch.’_ – was the text Harvey sent her a little while later, and she decided to concentrate on her classes till then.

Sabrina had already been waiting by the bleachers for a while by the time Harvey came running, panting and out of breath.

“Brina.” He panted out, taking deep breathes in gulpfuls. Sabrina ran her hand over his back in soothing circles. Once Harvey could make sounds other than his heavy breathing, he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the bleachers in an alcove the four friends had spent countless hours in.

“Harvey is everything okay?” Sabrina asked with concern in her voice and nerves in her eyes.

“Brina, I know you said you can’t spend your birthday with us this time, and I know better than to convince you otherwise.” Harvey held on to both her hands and Sabrina held onto her breath. “But I wanted to say something to you. I wanted to say it to you on your birthday but I couldn’t wait till then.” He pulled a small velveteen box out of his pocket and opened it before her, displaying the beautiful silver necklace resting inside it. “Happy Birthday, Brina.”

“Oh, Harvey!” Sabrina grinned the most beautiful smile he had seen on her, her heart finally settling in after a day of anxiety. Harvey took the locket out of the box and fastened it over her nape, staying there a beat longer before moving back and grabbing her face in his hands.

“I love you.” Harvey breathed out, his eyes were clouding over with something she could not exactly pinpoint as he reached forward and kissed her like he had never done before. When they parted to breathe, Sabrina could say with a certain conviction that the look in his eyes was that of adoration.

“I love you too, Harvey Kinkle.” Sabrina smiled back at him and pulled him closer in another kiss, which only broke when they heard the faint sound of the bell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this, go read chapter one again, it has been rewritten - the story is now in the 3rd person POV and not on 1st person POV.

In the beginning, a few weeks after Sabrina’s 14th birthday, a certain Nick Scratch, warlock extraordinaire, moved to Baxter High, coming in like a hurricane that made everyone notice. Well everyone, except Sabrina Spellman who was busy being enamoured by one Harvey Kinkle who had very recently become her boyfriend. The young Nicholas Scratch came with talent, mystery, a truckload of charisma and plenty rumours to back them. He rose through the social ranks so fast that by the time Sabrina’s 15th birthday rolled around nobody remembered that the raven-haired boy had only moved to town a couple a months ago. If you asked anyone, they would swear on their life that they had gone to school with him since kindergarten. Nick Scratch had embedded himself in the background of Sabrina’s life so quickly, it felt like magic.

Nick had been standing around the lockers, waiting for his teammates before they headed to practice, but in reality, it had been just to get a glimpse of a certain blonde. Nick’s hand automatically went up to his left elbow when the sea of people in the corridor parted and he saw her walking towards him, or more specifically her locker which was opposite his. He wasn’t quite sure if what he felt inside him every time he looked at her was anything beyond infatuation for the beautiful witch, but he couldn’t shrug off the sensation he had had when on that one fateful night of the football game before Nick was a part of the team, Sabrina had brushed past him, her hand touching his elbow for a split second. Nick was in a henley that covered his arms as he had always worn after his dark baptism but he felt something in his soulmark, as if it would have glowed if that touch had been on his skin directly.

Nick’s soulmark had always been a confusing thing for him. For one, it was stark white, and if it really was the colour of his soulmate’s hair, he hoped he would not end up having to wait till they were both old and in rocking chairs, like some of his cousins used to insinuate. If that wasn’t enough, his soulmark was also a very weird shape, a shakily drawn spiral, the size of his palm. Usually, these marks looked like birthmarks or scars while his looked like a drunken mistake of a tattoo.

He looked at her opening her locker without letting go of the Kinkle boy’s hand, the two were somehow giddier than they usually looked around each other and Nick couldn’t stop the feeling of his heart sinking when he saw them share a chaste kiss before they headed towards their class. From all he knew of Spellman, she kept the PDA to a minimum, at least in the school, something must have changed since the last time he saw them, or so it seemed. 

Nick wasn’t even sure of what he wanted, if he just wanted for Sabrina to touch his arm once again just to confirm it once and for all, or if he wanted something more, something beyond, regardless of whether they were soulmates or not.

“A quarter for your thoughts, Scratch.” Varun, his teammate and a sort of a best friend bumped his shoulder into him. “You’ve been staring at Sabrina like a creep, look away before she notices.” He whispered making Nick stutter in his stance and look everywhere but at the two people walking away.

“I wasn’t.”

“You sure were, buddy. Can’t fool me.” Varun, who was a few inches taller, slung his arm around Nick’s shoulder and half pulled half dragged him away from there. Nick, for all his protests, couldn’t stop from sneaking one last glance at her before she turned down another corridor.

 

By the time Nick got back to the Blackwood Orphanage, where he had been living for the past two years, it was almost nightfall. He could make out the outline of Prudence hanging the customary lantern out on the porch, as he walked in the wrought iron gates.

“Waiting for me, cousin? You don’t need to stand on ceremony.” Nick smirked towards the girl as she blew out the match in her hand.

“Do I look like a watchman to you?” Prudence bit back. “And don’t call me cousin. I’m none of that.” She said before striding into the house.

“Ooh, feisty much tonight, Prudence?” Nick chuckled before following her in.

“Don’t test her tonight, Scratch. She’s been in an argument with Father Blackwood.” Agatha and Dorcas replied to him, the former completing the sentence the latter started. Nick shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on his designated hook on the coat rack.

“Anything major?”

“The same old. She was asking him to take her under his wing and train her like he’s training you.” Dorcas said with a sigh and linked her arms with Nick’s. 

“And what did he say?”

“The same old. He does not want your training to suffer by taking on two witches at the same time.” Agatha replied this time and attached herself to his other arm, as they together walked into the kitchen to get Nick some dinner since it was well past the official dinner time.

“Uh, no wonder she wants to bite my head off.” Nick said as the girls seated themselves on the kitchen counter and Nick rummaged through the fridge. “I guess I should try talking to Father Blackwood. My training can take years, we can’t have Prudence waiting that long. She will be losing too many good years.” Nick pulled out a cellophane wrapped plate of the night’s dinner, surely kept in there for him by Prudence and smiled.

“It’s a pity you guys broke up. You both are so nice for each other.” Dorcas stared at him from her perch atop her hands folded onto the counter.

“Too nice really.” Agatha blanched. “But are you sure she isn’t your soulmate?”

“Positive.” Nick replied, already having started on the food. “Her hair is dirty blonde, not silver white. Besides she’s touched my mark many times, it never glowed.”

“I wish it did.” The two witches said in unison. After this, Nick ate in silence, with Dorcas stealing a few pieces of broccoli of his plate now and then. Agatha would quip in once or twice about interesting things that had happened at the orphanage and during their Unseen Arts classes in the evening at the Desecrated Church. Nick, being at a more advanced level than them, and also being a decade older, was already done with the curriculum taught to them at the Church. It was the lure of being taught by the mentor of Edward Spellman that had brought him to this coven and this town. Faustus Blackwood had been all too thrilled to be mentoring another gifted warlock and had readily agreed, even to majority of Nick’s conditions – such as he would still attend ceremonies and masses at his original Church with his own coven, or that he wanted to attend the mortal high school and finish the studies he had left pending when he left the mortal high school in his town after his parents died.

As he walked to his room, after having peaked in to say a customary hello and goodnight to Fr. Blackwood, he stopped by the weird sisters’ room, wanting to speak to Prudence and assure her that he was on her side and would try his best to convince her father. But he knew all too well to not prod at Prudence Night when she was upset over something, especially something that had anything to do with her father, and decided to defer this conversation for another night.

Laying down on his bed in a room that he thankfully did not have to share with anybody else, his thoughts wandered back to his life before this, his life when he was living an aimless life at the Scratch family estate with nobody for company other than Amalia. He had no ambitions, no plans for a future and no inspiration, when he had one day stumbled into his father’s library and chanced upon a book about the art of binding authored by Edward Spellman. He had been so fascinated by the ideas and theories in that book that for the first time in his life after the death of his parents he had been motivated enough to try and locate the author, to get him to teach the art further. He had disheartened when he had learned of the warlock and his mortal wife’s untimely death, quite eerily similar to that of his parents. He for the first time in a long while wanted something, and this time he was not letting anything stop him from getting it. This was how the young warlock Nicholas Scratch tracked down Faustus Blackwood, Edward Spellman’s mentor and convinced him (not that it took much work) to train Nick.

Nick did think it was quite a coincidence that Edward Spellman’s daughter still lived in town, or that he had one, for he had not chanced upon that information when he searched about her father. And now that there was a chance that that certain Spellman could be his soulmate, he wondered how much of it really was a coincidence, and how much was an ungodly plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still not sure where this story is going to go honestly, so all ideas and inputs are welcome. Please help this poor witch out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took four months to get back to. I had thought this story died when I was surprised with comments on it that guilt-tripped me into writing. I am still building the story as I go. I hope that doesn't show. This chapter might be a bit sluggish and filler-ish, but I am still building my backstories and picking and dumping facts from the show as they fit the story.

It was an achievement for Sabrina to have kept her excitement in check the rest of the day before she could rush home and talk to Ambrose, because Sabrina had a plan. She strode through the house, hoping that her aunties were still in the funeral parlour cleaning up post the funeral that was to take place that morning.

“Ambrose?” She peaked in through the door leading to the embalming room below and shouted for him but received no answer in return. His room in the attic it was to be then, she thought before hurriedly marching up the two levels of stairs. She barges in through his door about to launch into a tirade before noticing her brother lounging on his bed in just his pyjamas with his headphones on. Sabrina sniggered at the wide-eyed look Ambrose gave her before turning around to give him the privacy to make himself decent. Ambrose threw on a robe and tied it at his waist before acknowledging the presence of his sister in the room.

“You seem awfully excited about something sis.” Ambrose smirked cheekily at the smile bursting at the seams of her face.

“I’m going to follow your advice.” Sabrina giddily clapped her hands making Ambrose all the more confused and a little bit worried if this specific bit of advice she had decided on following would get him in trouble with the aunties.

“And which one is it, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ambrose asked sitting down on his low bed while Sabrina decided to pace the tiny attic space.

“I want to be sure about Harvey being my soulmate before my dark baptism. I want to check it.”

“And how do you plan to do it?” Ambrose retorted cheekily knowing well enough what this particular bit involved.

“Well if you want me to be explicit enough, we are going to have sex.” Sabrina grinned while Ambrose groaned at the image that created in his mind.

“And that is the only way you can think of?” Ambrose asked trying to prompt her thought process out of her wanting to know if she had clearly thought about it. “We can always spy on him, with an enchanted mirror or by sneakily astral projecting in on him while he’s taking a bath.” 

“Ambrose…”

“I am just saying, Sabrina, you don’t need to go all out just for this piece of information. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to have sex with the person you like, but just for the purpose of confirming if he has a certain mark on his body or not, it feels like you’re forcing yourself.”

“Love.”

“Huh?” Ambrose looked up to see her absentmindedly twirling the chain of a new pendant around her neck that he had never seen on her.

“I love him, and he loves me, he told me that today.” Sabrina let out a soft sigh and sat down next to her brother. “Ambrose I’ve thought this out, that’s all I have done today, and the more I think about it, the more I want to do this, it seems like the natural flow of things.” She leaned her head on his shoulder and held onto his arm.

“And would this be the thing you would be doing if you didn’t have your dark baptism in four days?” Ambrose asked her with a knowing smile and she looked up at him, knowing fully what his question entailed.

“I would be doing this whether the dark baptism meant getting my soulmark or not. My life is going to change after the dark baptism anyway, regardless of the temptation of finding my soulmate. I want to have something to hold on to before I flip my life upside down.”

“Well then what would you like me to do for you?” Sabrina looked at him with happy surprise and hugged him.

 

The light and airy feeling with which Sabrina entered the kitchen the next morning was threatening to spill from her lips in form of a giddy grin she was trying hard to supress. 

“Morning cous, you seem happy this morning.” Ambrose poked at her insolently.

“The rabbit’s foot seemed to have helped I see.” Aunt Hilda smiled at her and Ambrose stopped his chuckle with his tongue in his cheek.

“It did Aunt Hilda, thank you very much. I slept like a babe.” Sabrina gave her a quick hug before sitting down for breakfast. “Aunty Zee, I wanted to get a head start on some of my early obligations after the baptism.” Sabrina said as she crunched down on her toast and waited for her aunt to put down the newspaper.

“Which ones?” Zelda asked, neatly folding her paper and putting it aside to give her niece her careful attention.

“I wanted to pick my familiar, for one.”

“Oh that’s a fabulous idea, I have the registry from the council right here, all prepared.” Zelda shot up from her place and placed a heavy bound and gilded album before her, opening it to an apparently already bookmarked page. “There’s lovely handsome looking hedgehog, and this noble hound, unless you’d rather have a rat or a tarantula like your impetuous relatives here.” Zelda said with a dramatic eyeroll.

“I was thinking of something else Aunt Zee.” Sabrina pushed the heavy tome aside and crossed her arms over the table with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I was thinking of using the summoning spell to see if anyone would like to volunteer. That’s why I wanted to get a head start on this.”

“That’s a charming idea.” Aunt Hilda pitched in as she poked her elbows off the table and placed a stack of pancakes in front of her.

“Thanks Aunt Hilda.” Sabrina smiled before looking back at her other aunt. “I was also thinking of starting early on my tutelage applications. To be on a safer side I was thinking of applying to Sister Jackson along with my application to Father Blackwood.”

“Urghh, that woman is a nag!” Zelda scrunched up her nose.

“Applying to two people would be a good idea, considering Fr. Blackwood has that boy from Church of Morningstar under his wing right now. I’ve heard he wishes to be taught exclusively.” Hilda piped in.

“But you’re forgetting darling sister that the Academy is reopening!”

“What?! When? How?” Sabrina stood up from her place, a large bite of pancakes still in her mouth.

“Well its been close to fifteen years since your father passed away and the academy fell to ruins in his absence. The council had been for some time attempting to convince Father Blackwood to take helm of the institution and rebirth it from its ashes. He has finally agreed. And any witch or wizard baptised and willing will be taught at the academy instead of having to look for mentors in their communities. As you know our Academy of Unseen Arts had covered all of the north of the country before, so the news has come to be appreciated by plenty of the covens.” Zelda pulled in a puff of smoke from her almost dwindled cigarette before dropping the final bombshell of the conversation. “I have been asked to teach the choir and I’m quite positively considering it.”

“Hail Satan! Zelda you didn’t tell me that! It’s a brilliant piece of news!” Hilda hugged her reluctant sister with all the enthusiasm the other won’t show.

“That really is great news Aunty Zee.” Sabrina said and Ambrose nodded in agreement. 

“I wish I could attend too, if not for this house arrest.” Ambrose sighed. The conversation had strayed to each person’s excitement about Sabrina getting a chance to attend the institution once made great by the works of her father before it all fell silent at the plight of their boy.

“So Sabrina, what are your plans for today? It’s your last day in your high school as a half mortal. The next time you go there you’ll be a full witch!” Hilda attempted to distract her family from the morose never ending situation they found themselves to be in whenever the topic of Ambrose’s house arrest came out.

“I was thinking of heading out for a movie with my friends after school and probably get some dinner.”

“That’s a fantastic idea, luv.”

“Alright then, I guess it’s time for me to head to school.” Sabrina said taking a look at the wall clock and getting up from her place, hoping to escape the awkwardness of the situation.

 

Harvey could feel a shift in Sabrina’s behaviour when she spent most of the movie hours snuggled into his side absentmindedly playing with his fingers instead of paying attention to one of her favourite horror movies that she had seen atleast a dozen times so far, but he didn’t want to bring it up in the dark of the theatre.

The change in her mood was still evident when they left the theatre and instead of pitching in with her commentary on the movie, she continued to be glued to his side as they walked to Dr. Cerberus’s for dinner.

“They’ve moved our spot.” Was the first thing Sabrina said in a while the moment they walked inside the weird lovechild of a restaurant and a bookstore. Sabrina rushed forward to push aside the loveseat that had been moved closer to the door before heading to their fixed table moving some stools out of the way and into their correct spot. Dr. Cee who had seen Sabrina hurriedly moving the furniture around rushed to help her in the midst of all the other patrons looking at them curiously.

“I’m sorry Sabrina, the new kid seemed to have done this without asking me.” Everyone around them looked incredulously at the owner apologizing to a young girl about the position of the furniture in his restaurant, and so did Nicholas Scratch, who sat at the bar sipping a milkshake, when two new people entered the place.

“Sabrina seemed awfully silent tonight, don’t you think?” Roz was saying as Theo held the door open for his friend to walk in and Harvey rushed to her side.

“Here let me help you.” Harvey said holding onto Roz’s hand and elbow to guide her.

“Stop it Harvey.” Roz chuckled. “I’ve been in here so many times! I can take myself to our booth. It is two steps in, ten steps to the right, just past the loveseat on the left. I know it like the back on my hand.” She swatted his hands away.

“They moved the furniture Roz.” Harvey quietly said before putting his hands on her arm again.

“Oh.” The sadness and understanding that she replied with still made his heart ache, even after two years of having seen her deal with her lost vision. Everyone else who was staring at this like an entertaining spectacle was now looking away so sheepishly that Harvey was glad Roz could not see it. Nick on the other hand was still fixated on Sabrina who had finally moved their table back to what seemed to be its original spot before standing up to glare at everyone else, her hands on her hips.

“This was weird.” Theo said as Roz slid into her usual seat at the booth and Theo sat down next to her.

“Was everybody staring?” Roz asked self-consciously.

“Well they wouldn’t be if they were smart and had some manners, but sadly Greendale hasn't got very many of those.” Sabrina sighed but succeeded in making her friends laugh. 

“See something interesting Scratch?” Prudence who had missed the whole debacle by conveniently being in the washroom shook Nick out of his reverie and sat down at the bar next to him.

“Well I do now.” Nick said with his patent grin and pushed towards her the glass of milkshake he had been guarding for her. Nick had brought Prudence here as an olive branch after her fight with Father Blackwood for he was the reason for it. While Prudence had a strong dislike for mortal public places, she had an undeniable sweet tooth, one that Nick and her sisters on plenty occasions took undue advantage of.

The conversation over at Sabrina’s table had settled to the usual humdrum and they were all sensing Sabrina return to normal as they discussed the movie, school, and Halloween.

“Oh I wish you could be there at Roz’s party this weekend, Sabrina.” Theo lamented the same way all three of them had done innumerable times that month ever since Sabrina had told them that this time she was going to skip the party for a private personal ceremony that her family had planned for her sixteenth birthday that was apparently an obligatory family tradition.

“I wish so too Theo.” Sabrina sighed, once again biting her lips to stop herself from telling her friends everything about her real life. “But it’s only this once, my sixteenth birthday is important to my family and I can’t say no to them.” Sabrina said her usual spiel distracted when she spied a head of dirty blonde hair from her periphery heading towards the door. She turned to see Prudence Night, whom she had seen plenty of times at church, along with all the other children from the Orphanage, walk out the door hand in hand with none other than Nicholas Scratch from her school. For a moment she wondered where Prudence had chanced upon the pure and innocent mortal ‘new-to-town’ boy and what she was doing here with him before being shaken from her train of thoughts by her boyfriend.

“Sabrina.” Harvey said making her look towards him. “Did you hear what I just said?” He asked, getting a no in response. “I was saying that we understand that you can’t spend your birthday with us this year but we will have plenty of those with you, so we are going to enjoy this dinner tonight and see the new sixteen-year-old you in school on Monday. And I asked you if you agree.”

“Oh Harvey, you’re too sweet.” Sabrina smiled pulling into his side and giving him a kiss on his cheek.

“Urgh, you both are.” Theo said with a grimace and the four of them laughed, the barely known boy and the shrewd witch forgotten from her mind.

 

They had been silently walking on their way to her house when Harvey decided to broach the topic of her changed moods. He had made up his mind to talk to her about it when she had given extra longing and sad hugs to both Theo and Roz before they split up at the end of the night.

“Brina, are you okay?” Harvey asked as they stepped onto the well beaten path to the mortuary, the big house visible at the end of the road.

“I am fine Harvey, what made you ask?”

“You’ve been silent and sad all day today.”

“I have been silent, but I am far from sad, Harvey.” Sabrina smiled up at him twiddling the locket in her hand as she slid the other one into Harvey’s.

“What have you been thinking about then?”

“Us.”

“What about us?”

“Just… us. We have been together for two years. We both know and have acknowledged that we love each other.” Sabrina said coming to a halt in front of the steps leading up to the house. “And I was just thinking about the natural progression of things.”

“What about it?” Harvey grinned knowingly.

“Go on a date with me tomorrow?” Sabrina asked and Harvey hugged her in response. “Is that a yes?” She laughed. Harvey spun her around and placed her on the first stair, making her equal to him in height.

“How could it be anything but, Brina.” He lightly pecked her on her lips with a brilliant smile on his.

“Great then, pick me up at 6?”

“As you say, m’lady.” Harvey curtsied making her laugh. Sabrina reached forward and pulled him by his lapels planting a chaste but lingering kiss on his lips.

“I love you Harvey.”

“I love you too Sabrina.” Harvey smiled watching her climb the stairs before walking away, already dreaming about the next day and night.

 

Sabrina opened her eyes as the first strain of her alarm began to build, climbing out of the bed she approached the calendar pinned on the wall above her desk. She picked up a marker and crossed off another day, and just like that there they were, mere forty hours away from her dark baptism.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some things are the same, plenty are new, a few here and there are canon but have or will happen at different points in time. I wish i was not this confusing, I hope it made enough sense.  
> Also, English is technically not my first language and I am not very well versed with the way conversations happen in America, so if something sounds stunted, let me know?


	4. Chapter 4

Sabrina had walked into Ambrose’s room after spending the afternoon performing the summoning ritual for a familiar in the woods, jumping with excitement at the possible candidates that could show up.

“Well, I hope it’s a smart and sensible one. Vinegar Tom is too dumb to do much and I’ve always been absolutely terrified of Hilda’s tarantulas.” Ambrose said with a shudder while Sabrina rummaged through his record bin.

“I’m going to be okay as long as it’s not a mean and malicious one.” Sabrina shrugged pulling out one of Nat King Cole before gingerly setting it on the turntable and joining her brother on the bed. “Don’t you miss your old familiar?” She asked as the piano strain of Route 66 started building up.

“Achilles? That old bat?” Ambrose ruminated with a smile. “Oh so dearly.” 

“You had a bat named Achilles as your familiar? And you’re talking about our aunts’ familiars being weird.” Sabrina laughed.

“Hey, he was a bat, but he was the cutest and smartest around alright. I’ve scared the hell out of our aunties with his help plenty of times. He was a gem of a creature. I heard he died from the agony of separation a few months after I had to abandon him as the conditions of my house arrest stated I could not keep a familiar. Can’t believe it’s been more than seventy years since I’ve seen him.” Ambrose’s smile had turned sour and he picked up a book lying nearby to avoid looking at his sister.

“If I get a bat for a familiar I’ll let you name it Achilles.” Sabrina coaxed snuggling into his side making him laugh. “Sometimes I forget how much older than my mother you are.” She sighed.

“Hey, who are you calling old? I can still pass off as a college student!” Ambrose poked her a few times on her side making her topple over with laughter from the tickling sensation. “Diana used to be freaked out about that too once she found out when exactly I was born and when Edward was born, but then I guess she got used to the fact that her husband was close to half a decade older than her.”

“I wonder what they’d say if they knew what my plans for tonight were.”

“Well, I’m sure they would freak out, especially your father considering he was such an astute follower of our laws and the witch law says you have to keep yourself virginal before the baptism.”

“That’s a hoard of patriarchal bullshit if I’ve ever seen one.” Sabrina rolled her eyes.

“I don’t quite believe in that either, but just keep the fact that you let Harvey defile you a mere night before your dark baptism, especially from dear aunt Zee.” Ambrose laughed attempting to imitate their aunt’s enunciation.

“Urghh.” Sabrina made a face as she looked at the clock when it struck four. “I should go start getting ready for my date.”

“You have two hours, cousin.”

“Yeah, and I need to look my best.” Sabrina gave him a cheeky grin and strode out shutting the door behind her.

 

Harvey had picked Sabrina up in Tommy’s pickup truck looking spiffy in a leather jacket and a hairdo that made it seem like he had spent quite some time in cleaning himself up. Without really discussing it he parked the car outside Dr. Cee’s and Sabrina realized she didn’t really wish to have gone anywhere else for this date.

“How did you know I wanted to come here?” Sabrina joked as he came over to open her door and help her out.

“Where else would you have wanted to go ‘Brina. This has always been your happy place.” Harvey said extending a hand that she gladly took.

“Well, this and the theatre.”

“You should’ve said something if you wanted to go on yet another movie date.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a movie date, but no I just wanted to have a peaceful dinner with you. And maybe a quieter chat afterward somewhere more private and away from prying eyes.” Sabrina hinted at her intentions before opening the door of the restaurant and walking in. She neared the table next to the display window that they preferred for dates when she saw the fancy table cloth, a lit candle and a vase on top of it and sheepish looking Dr. Cee standing nearby.

“I told Dr. Cee tonight was a special date.” Harvey whispered into her ear and she sat down in the chair he had pulled out for her while their gracious host filled their glasses with water and left, apparently already knowing what the order of the night was to be.

The night flowed like the most natural of their dates as Sabrina laughed and ate and almost forgot that her life was going to change in a little more than 24 hours. Sabrina had been nursing her lukewarm cup of hot chocolate when Harvey came back after paying the cheque and thanking Dr. Cee for his hospitality.

“Dad and Tommy are on a night shift at the mines.” Harvey said matter of factly as he sat down.

“Want to get out of here now?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Harvey said with a chuckle and a brilliant smile as he offered her a hand.

The nervous silence in the truck on their way to Harvey’s house was bordering on uncomfortable by the time Harvey pulled into the driveway. For a moment they just sat there, awkward and anxious before Harvey reached forward to kiss her, she snaked her hands through his hair and settled them on his nape pulling him forward. For a moment they were just hungry and insatiable until it was proving hard to stay like that without drawing a breath. As the parted Harvey had a brilliant smile on his face at the look of Sabrina’s contentment.

“Let’s head inside.” Sabrina said, opening her door.

“Well, I didn’t want to continue that in here either would’ve been uncomfortable.” Harvey joked climbing out of the truck himself and following her inside the house. They were barely inside the door when Sabrina pulled his face forward and continued where they had left off. Harvey pulled his jacket and shoes off and threw them in some random direction as Sabrina planted a string of kisses on his lips before picking her in his arms and walking determinately to his room. He mischievously threw her onto the bed and climbed on himself as Sabrina’s hands swiftly went to the buttons on his shirt. In between light and thorough kisses she managed to get the shirt unbuttoned and off him, discarded like it was never to be seen again. Harvey reached forward to kiss her again but she stopped him with a hand on his bare chest making him confused as she turned, pushed him onto his back and straddled him. Her eyes roved hungrily and inquisitively over every inch of his pale naked skin and his eyes followed that path that hers took.  
She knew there were lesser chances on the mark being on the chest, it usually never was. The most common places to get the mark were your arms, your back or your sides. But there had always been people who had them at unusual places like Ambrose whose mark was so low on his waist that it only peeked through his waistband now and then. She needed to see the rest of him and her patience had worn threadbare. She unbuckled his belt before grabbing at his waistband and ordering him, “Off!” She pulled herself off him and he stood up with a chuckle to comply with her. She hurriedly unzipped her dress, keeping her eyes on his retreating back, exploring every bit of it, but could see nothing except for a few moles and freckles on either his back or the legs as they came out of the denim. He stood before her in nothing but his briefs exhibiting himself as a life-sized anatomy model for her, arm wide, turning around, making her laugh as she took off her dress and stood before him in her lingerie and stockings.

In reality, Sabrina’s hope was dwindling, and there was just one piece of clothing that remained, keeping only a bit of Harvey from her to see and to know for sure that he was not the one. But she was not going to let assumptions ruin it for her, without letting her know for sure.

“Well,” Harvey said looking at her a little self-consciously.

“I think that needs to come off too.” Sabrina said gesturing to his underpants as pulled off her stockings and reached behind to unhook her bra. Harvey consciously turned around, making her smile.

As the last bit of Harvey was exposed to her, her dreams all shattered before her and unknowingly a tear trickled down her face. Harvey stood back up facing her, extremely shy yet feeling ready to love the whole of Sabrina when he saw the tears making way down her face.

“Oh shit!” He reached forward, understanding the dilemma he thought had been going on in her mind, wiping her tears with one hand, and hurriedly pulling the towel off the back of his chair to wrap it around his waist with the other. “Brina! What’s wrong?!”

“Nothing, Harvey. Nothing.” Sabrina shook her head, reaching for the towel tied at his waist but Harvey held her hands and made her sit down on the bed, first reaching behind to refasten her bra and then settling on his knees in front of her.

“Hey. Hey, look at me.” Harvey said holding onto her hands, looking into her eyes. “It’s okay. It can be overwhelming. It can feel like you thought it was the right time, but maybe we were rushing into it. Let’s not do any of this tonight alright. We will have other night, other dates, more years to take the steps forward, there is no hurry.” He reassured her with a smile and looked at her expectantly till she nodded.

“Hold me? Can we atleast snuggle?” Sabrina asked with a chuckle, wiping at her face.

“Oh thank god. It would’ve been damn embarrassing if you had wanted to run out of here right away.” Harvey joked back before carefully getting up, one hand automatically going to the tuck of the towel. “Let me atleast put on some pyjamas, and you can put your dress back on if you want.” He gave her a small kiss on her forehead, picking up a pair of pyjamas he headed to the bathroom. By the time he came back, Sabrina was lying in his bed already dressed, minus the stockings, flipping through a comic. He climbed into bed and lay down next to her and she put her head on his chest while he played with her blonde locks.

“Are you disappointed?” Sabrina asked in a small voice, not daring to look up at his face.

“Never Brina. Things take their own due course and so will this relationship. I am in no hurry. Really. I am just happy that I get to love you.” He said looking down just as she dared to look up at the words he had just said. “Sabrina I want you, I obviously do. And I love you. I love that I know you and want you completely, like you’re a treasure chest lay open in front of me. And I also know that so do you. But sometimes it takes time to be ready for something, and I am completely ready to wait. For now, I am content just holding you.” Harvey planted a kiss on her hair and pulled her closer in his arms, holding here there close to him.

For a while they just lay there, listening to the other breathe, before it was time for Harvey to take Sabrina back.

“I will see you at school on Monday.” Harvey said giving her a chaste kiss as she climbed out of the truck. “Happy Birthday, Brina.” And with that he drove off.

Sabrina turned around to see Ambrose at the top of the stairs looking at her expectantly, having waited for her to come back, and she only shook her head as she climbed the stairs and fell into his arms crying with the tears she had already shed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the story isn't going too weirdly. I have a few questions and need your help with it.  
> 1\. Was the date too short and hurried? Did it seem like I was in a hurry to get to the possible sex?  
> 2\. Is there any way to stop using the word "before"? I seem to be using it way too much.  
> Please help!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet and I've not had the time to go through it after writing, so pardon any errors.

Sabrina had spent quite some time in Ambrose’s room, being shushed, telling her brother about it all, and finally calming down before he deemed her alright enough to return to her room, with plenty promises to brainstorm this current problem post her baptism. By the time she was done taking a bath and had ventured to her room, it was close to midnight. A swift wind came in through the open window alarming her because she remembered closing it before she left for the date. Walking towards it, she shut the window and heard a rustle of something behind her, seeing a shadow slither behind the paper screen.

“Who is there? Show yourself before I bind you with a spell.” Sabrina faked a confident demeanour ever after knowing pretty well how abysmal her binding abilities were. She hoped that the wards her aunties had put around the house would keep any major demons and spirits at bay.

“I heard you calling in the woods today, asking for a familiar.” A disembodied voice wafted towards her as a couple of large beady eyes peeked from behind the screen. “I have come to answer your summons.” And with a rustle the goblin changed his shape, taking one of a beautiful pitch-black feline that strode towards Sabrina.

“Oh my, you’re so adorable.” Sabrina said picking him up. “What may I call you?” She asked and the cat meowed and purred in response, which Sabrina was delightfully surprised to find that she could understand perfectly well.

Just as she stood stroking the cat that happily sat in her arms, her door opened and a chorus of “Happy Birthday” sang out with the brilliantly happy faces of her aunts and cousin illuminated by the glow of the candles on the cake in their hands.

“What in the devil’s name is that?” Zelda asked.

“This is Salem, my new familiar.” Sabrina smiled brilliantly as the cat meowed. “Oh why, thank you dear sir.” She said to the cat before explaining to the family. “He wished me a happy birthday.”

“Why would you name your familiar – that.” Zelda scrunched her nose as Hilda went ahead to greet the new creature of the house and Ambrose sat down the cake.

“He named himself – that, Auntie.” Sabrina laughed as she put him down and going ahead to blow out the candles. The cake was cut and fed to everyone there in the midst of plenty laughter and cheer before everyone promised to give her her gifts the next morning and retired from there and Sabrina went to sleep with her new familiar lying at the bottom of the bed, guarding her.

 

After a lazy afternoon with brunch in bed that was midway hijacked by Ambrose who sneakily fed some of her eggs to Salem, the cat having taken an immediate liking for the older warlock, and some more hours just gossiping with her cousin, she was ushered into the bathroom for a scrub down and a soak by her aunties.

“You know I could get used to this kind of spa treatment every birthday, baptism or no baptism.” Sabrina said as she lay back in the warm water while Hilda put some spelled salts in the bath, murmuring protection and blessed enchantments under her breath.

“Do not get used to it, child.” Zelda rolled her eyes as she entered the cramped bathroom with a tray full of candles and began arranging them around the bathroom while Hilda began to light them up one by one.

“Do you need all of them together?” Sabrina raised her brows at the commotion of smells that hit her once the flames had settled in.

“Of course we do, what kind of a question is that?” Zelda huffed and walked out, her part of the job done.

“Yes we do darling, you see basil for foresight and good luck, frankincense is for grounding, pine for youth and immortality, rosemary for remembrance, and sage for cleansing. And you also need five undying flames around you while you finish bathing.” Hilda pointed at each as she told her their importance before she reached down and gave Sabrina a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll send Salem in to keep you company and stand guard.” Hilda said as she closed the door behind her.

Sabrina sank into the tub and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep and not even realizing when the familiar snuck in and took his place upon the toilet seat cover to keep an eye on her. It was only when Hilda knocked on the door to fetch her, before she started pruning in the water, which she already had, that Sabrina opened her eyes and chanced upon the candle that sat cold on her left, the one her aunt had referred to as one for good luck, the flame having gone off awhile now.

The suspicious looking mixture that Hilda had thrust into her hands as she towelled herself tasted as bad as it looked but Sabrina downed it in a few gulps and fell back into her bed, at the same time relaxed from such a long bath and tired of how many rituals this ceremony demanded of her. She had been left to her own devices with a couple of hours free at hand for which she decided to lounge in her bath gown and watch a movie. She fell asleep midway through the movie and was woken up her Aunt Hilda to start preparing her for the night, when she looked at the clock and realized it was some time past ten in the night, and suddenly, just like that her birthday was almost over, the dawn of her new life at her doorstep.

She picked up her phone, having realized she had not checked it all day long, having left it on silent before going to sleep the night before. There were plenty of customary birthday greetings, some messages from Roz and Theo telling her yet again how they wished they could spend the day with her along with a couple missed calls from the two. In between all this was a sole message from Harvey –

_‘I love you, Brina, always have, always will. Happy Birthday. –H.’_

– The message was timed a little after midnight and all the feelings Sabrina had felt the previous night came rushing back. She was jolted out of her ministrations by Zelda who walked in with a garment bag in hand.

“Sabrina, this is my birthday gift for you.” Zelda said laying the bag in Sabrina’s lap and standing back as her niece reached forward to open it and gasped at finding the pristine white dress she had pictures of on her wall, her mother clad in it, on her wedding day.

“But the baptismal dress should be black, right?” Sabrina said in confusion.

“Well I made some magical alterations to it, you’ll see later. But you’ve wished for this since you were a child and I couldn’t let a mere colour stop me from making my darling niece happy.” Zelda said and was taken aback as Sabrina launched herself in her arms with a happy shriek while she stood stiffly in her embrace. “I know you’re happy, but that doesn’t warrant such uncouth behaviour young lady.” Zelda said awkwardly patting Sabrina on her back while she continued to hold her.

With the help of Hilda and Zelda, Sabrina dressed up in the dress and her mother’s pearls, looking at herself in the mirror and wondering if she would look as good as her mother on her own wedding before her thoughts once again went to Harvey.

“Aunties, I was wondering something?” Sabrina gingerly ventured forth.

“And that is…” Zelda prodded.

“Is it really necessary for the ceremony to be tonight? I mean it needs me to be sixteen, so it can very well be done tomorrow night right? And then there’s that eclipse happening tonight.” 

“What in Satan’s name are you saying, Sabrina? Of course, the ceremony has to be done tonight. It needs to be done right before your first day as sixteen-year-old finishes. You need to stop thinking such useless thoughts and spend some more time in prayer!” An irate Zelda rushed out of the room, only to bump into Hilda who had left to fetch something but stayed out of the door when she heard the conversation happening.

“Look at the impudence of that child, questioning age old customs like that.” Zelda fumed as she entered the kitchen, Hilda rushing in behind her.

“Relax sister, she was just asking a mere question and it isn’t one that I myself haven’t thought of, what with the blood moon eclipse also being tonight.” Hilda said soothingly as she handed her sister a cup of tea and sat down opposite her.

“Hilda how could…”

“Witch powers are too erratic during natural phenomenon as major as this. Do you think it is sensible to have her be baptised at such a time.”

“You both seem to have eaten the same rotten fruit.” Zelda rolled her eyes. “The time for her baptism is an hour before the eclipse even peaks, sissy. She will be a full witch by the time it happens, and she will get to feel the deliciousness of her complete powers right after she signs her name away. Do you realize how amazing that is?”

“I do, but…”

“No buts Hilda. I do not have time for such trivialities of your own making. I need to get dressed before I head out of guide Father Blackwood to the church and so do you so that you can go and finish the arrangements.” Zelda said downing her tea and getting up from the spot. “And where’s Ambrose, I swear that monkey needs to stop jumping around with joy, I understand that he’s getting to get out of this house after seventy-five years thanks to this ceremony and it took me a lot of pains to get this small pardon sanctioned from the council but it does not warrant acting like a four-year-old.” Zelda was mumbling under her breath as she exited the room.

 

Sabrina had rung the bell but seconds later she wanted to run away, she wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. “I love that I know you and want you completely like you’re a treasure chest lay open in front of me.” She had remembered Harvey’s words from the night before and that had made her climb out of her window merely an hour before the moon rose and her ceremony had to be completed. If she wasn’t back at home in fifteen minutes, her aunt Hilda would be embalming her the next morning. But those words, the pure love in his eyes as they lay next to each other had been haunting her all day and she could not enter a new chapter in her life with things unsaid. Before she could psyche herself into running away, Harvey opened the door. He stood before her in his pajamas holding an open packet of chips.

“Sabrina, what are you doing here?” Harvey chewed the bunch he had cramped in his mouth and said over it. “And why are you in a wedding dress?” Sabrina internally cursed herself about not changing out of her mother’s wedding dress.

“Harvey…”

“Wait is this ‘the super-secret thing’ with your aunts?”

“I needed to talk to you before the… ceremony.” Sabrina pushed past him and entered the house, not wanting to continue the conversation on his porch.

“Ceremony? Oh my god! You are getting married! They are forcing you to marry someone aren’t they? Who the fuck are you marrying? Is this some cult thing? Should we run away? Oh my god, you were getting married tonight and you didn’t even tell me!” Harvey had begun pacing the floor and Sabrina’s patience had begun running thin.

“Harvey! Listen to me! I don’t have the time for you to freak out on me. My aunts don’t know that I am not in my room. I am not supposed to see anyone today but I needed to talk to you.” Sabrina put firm hands on Harvey’s arms to make him stop pacing in panic.

“What is this all about Sabrina? What’s happening here? I am freaking out!” Harvey said in the middle of choking out small breathes.

“I have a ceremony tonight, and no it’s not a wedding, it’s my baptism.” Sabrina enunciated slowly to let Harvey be able to follow her words because she needed him to understand fast, she did not have enough time to repeat herself.

“Baptism? What kind of baptism happens at night? I didn’t even know your family went to church.” Harvey’s face scrunched up in confusion as Sabrina rolled her eyes.

“Harvey, can you just listen to me without saying anything for a minute please?” Sabrina angrily said and Harvey responded with just a vigorous nod as she let go his arms and sat down on the living room sofa. “Good. It’s a dark baptism. I… my family, we belong to a church that worships Satan, just like all the other witches and warlocks in this town. And tonight when I sign my name in the Dark Lord’s book, I shall be a complete and permanent part of the coven, just like I’ve wanted to be, all my life.” Sabrina took a pause nodding at him to let him know that he could say something if he wished to, which she knew he did.

“What are you saying, Brina? That witches are real? That you’re one?” Harvey asked bewildered warily sitting down next to her.

“Yes Harvey, that’s exactly what I am saying. I am a half-witch, my father was a warlock and I will be considered a full witch when I finish my baptism tonight. It’s not going to change anything, I will see you in school tomorrow just like I always do. There’ll be nothing different about me, nothing that you could see or notice. But I’ll have all these powers and gifts that I’ve always dreamed of having. I just didn’t want to go through such a big part of my life, without you knowing about it. Nothing is going to change Harvey.” Sabrina said, unintentionally repeated herself as she held on to his hands, willing him to understand.

“Are you saying this because you are angry about last night? That I stopped us from having sex. Sabrina I just wanted you to be fully okay with it, and not do it just because I had told you I loved you.”

“No Harvey I am not lying or bluffing because I am angry. I was not upset last night, atleast not about that. I was upset because…” It was now Sabrina’s turn to pace the floor. “…one of the gifts that the Dark Lord bestows upon us for signing away our name to him is a mark, one that helps us identify the soulmate destined for us. The one I am meant to be with for all my life… and I wanted it to be you. I was trying to find my mark on your body, but there was none. That was the only reason I was upset. I wanted to be with you, I still do. This is a part of me and my life, a really big part that I have had to hide from you for so long that I just could not anymore. Believe me.”

“You’re saying you wanted me to have the mark of the devil on my body?” Harvey said with apparent disgust. 

“It doesn’t happen often that mortals have it. My mother was the only known one in our history, ever. That was the reason my parents could get married. I wanted that for us.”

“I would’ve wanted to be your soulmate too, Sabrina, but not like this, not with the devil’s mark on my body!” 

“Harvey, you’re taking it all wrong.”

“What am I taking wrong, Sabrina? That this town is full of devil-worshipping witches and warlocks? That you’re one of them and actually want to be! Or that the thing that you worship leaves you with a mark in exchange for signing away your soul! A mark that you freaking wanted on my body too. No, Sabrina, I can’t understand any of this any right way you could come up with.” Harvey said backing away from her, pulling his hands out of her grasp, shattering any and all hope Sabrina had in her that the two parts of her life could survive together harmoniously. “This is a lot to take in Sabrina.” Harvey held his head in his hands overwhelmed.

“Harvey look at me.” Sabrina said before forcefully pulling his head away from his grasp and making him look in her eyes. There she saw the doubt and confusion and the hint of fear that shattered her. “Listen to my voice, hear my words and forget I said anything. _Et obliviscere somnum._ ” She whispered and at once his eyes closed and he slumped back in her grasp. She gently laid him down on the sofa and got up to turn off the lights, his pale face illuminated in the harsh light of the muted television where apparently Harvey had been watching some movie before she walked ahead and turned it off. She neared him, looking at his face through tear fogged eyes and planted a kiss on his forehead. “I am sorry Harvey. I love you.” She said and in the eerie silence of the house, the sound of the clock striking midnight could be heard, jarring her back to reality. And she ran.

 

“Sister Zelda, how nice of you to come and fetch the priest.” Prudence said with a cheeky smile as she opened the door to their guest. Zelda stepped in to see Prudence and her sisters in great fineries, holding the instruments for the unholy ceremony, ready to depart.

“Of course Prudence, it is my sacred duty to guide and protect the priest and his altar maidens on the path to the church as the one who presents her daughter for baptism.” Zelda felt her irritation come back but maintained her calm and serenity. Father Blackwood walked out in all the glory of his official robes accompanied by a starkly underdressed yet handsome man clad in an old ratty grey t-shirt and joggers.

“I leave the house to you Nicky, make sure the kids are all asleep before the witching hour and no midnight snacks.” Father Blackwood said as he fastened his cloak at his neck. “Especially for Charlie.” Father Blackwood said looking pointedly behind Nick’s shoulder and he smiled turning around when he heard giggled going away behind the tapestry in the living room. Father Blackwood patted the boy on his shoulder before joining the three girls and their guest who stood waiting. “Should we get a move on, Sister Spellman.”

“As you wish, Father.” Zelda smiled at the man and walked ahead leading the procession.

“I wish you could come.” Prudence said to Nicholas as he walked with them to the door.

“It’s not my place to be there, I am not a part of your church.” He said keeping a hand on the doorknob as Prudence turned around to look at him.

“Well, regardless, I still do wish. We will be back soon, don’t stay up waiting.” She winked at him before rushing behind the party and Nick closed the door behind her with a smile.

 

It had been close to half-past eleven when all those who had left from the Blackwood Orphanage arrived at a packed Church, where everybody had congregated to see the unholy baptism of the daughter their beloved late High Priest. Walking in to see all the pews occupied Zelda beamed with pride before joining Hilda in the front.

“Where is Sabrina?” Zelda asked her in confusion as she saw her sister standing there alone.

“Well I needed to be here to deck up the Church, didn’t I?” Hilda whispered back. “Ambrose said he would get her here on time. I am glad the boy could get some reprieve, especially to see his sister get baptised, doesn’t happen every day.”

The Weird Sisters began to set up at the altar for the ceremony while Father Blackwood stood behind it preparing the main element – the Book of the Beast, but the entirety of it didn’t take much time and the gathered crowd began getting antsy as the minute of midnight fast approached. Father Blackwood looked at his watch and looked pointedly up at Zelda with a questioning gaze when the doors opened and everybody turned to look in anticipation but it was just Ambrose, hurrying through the aisle towards his aunties, out of breath and fearful of their reaction to the news.

“Ambrose, where’s she?” Zelda whispered in anger as he came to stand next to her.

“She is not at the house, I have looked absolutely everywhere. I have asked Salem to find her and fetch her here. There was no other place left for me to look so I decided to come here to tell you both the news.” He panted before finally sitting down in the stop left empty for him.

“This insolent girl! Running away, from her own baptism! What in the devil’s unholy name is she even up to!” Zelda’s temper had reached its peak and it was getting difficult to assume the calm and composed demeanour that everyone associated with Zelda Spellman.

As it neared ten minutes past midnight, past the mark by when the ceremony would have already ended, the crowd began to thin, people walking out, whispering amongst themselves about the daughter of the revered Edward Spellman running away from her dark baptism. By the time it was half-past twelve, there was no one in the church except for the Spellman family, Father Blackwood and his altar maidens. 

“Sister Zelda I believe your little girl has decided not to get baptised. We should all get going before the eclipse of the blood moon begins. I wish to spend those unholy moments in prayer while my powers are at the highest.” Father Blackwood looked at his watch and nodded at his girls before looking towards the lady. The Weird Sisters had just approached the altar to wrap up when the door opened with a loud thud.

“Sorry, I am late.” Said a grinning and out of breath Sabrina, as Salem meowed at her feet. Zelda hurriedly waved her arm and a carpet of brilliant blue flames mimicking hellfire rose through the aisle. As Sabrina stepped onto the flames, the white of her dress began changing into black – the appropriate colour of the ceremonial dress for a dark baptism. Zelda had planned this neat little trick when Sabrina had told her that she wanted to wear her mother’s wedding dress to the baptism and it would have wooed the crowd, had there been any left. Salem jumped through the door and went to sit next to Ambrose, proud of the fact that he had found Sabrina on her way to the church, earning a scratch behind his ear from Ambrose.

“Father, the eclipse has begun.” Prudence whispered to the priest as Sabrina neared the altar making him look up through the skylight at the black shadow that had begun to creep up over the scarlet moon.

“Sister Zelda we must hurry before the eclipse has completed. Her new powers would be too unstable for an eclipsing blood moon.” Father Blackwood said rushing towards Sabrina and pulling her hurriedly towards the altar, making her kneel before it. “The sisters Zelda and Hilda Spellman, have presented you, Sabrina Edwina Diana Spellman, their ward to be baptised in this desecrated church on this unholy day of your sixteenth birthday. Do you do so willingly and agree to forsake the path of light and promise to walk the path of night as long as you shall be? Do you agree to keep the Dark Lord and his devotion above all else in your life? Do you in return of the powers he grants you, promise to peruse them in service of our lord?” Father Blackwood had improvised the entirety of the twenty minutes of ceremony into a few.

“I do.” Sabrina said confidently, forgetting or at least pushing away from her mind, all that had transpired not half an hour ago.

“Then as I, Father Faustus Blackwood, hereby anoint you with the blood of Lilith and come forth and sign away your name in his book.” He smeared her forehead with blood from a cup offered to him by Prudence and took her by her hand towards the book kept open at the altar. Prudence looked back at Agatha and Dorcas who were supposed to at that moment walk ahead with the quill and the knife but were busy following the advent of the eclipse. Prudence cleared her throat loudly, nudging them to their job and they hurried forward. 

Agatha offered Sabrina the knife with which she made a cut on her thumb, letting a few drops of blood drip into a cup that held the blood of all the witches of the coven that came before her, including her father, before taking the quill offered to her by Dorcas. She dipped the quill in the cup and took a deep breath as she put the nib to the paper. As she slowly and carefully wrote down her name, Prudence watched the last of the light of the moon die and the eclipse be completed. The effect was immediate, the soft blue flames conjured by Zelda suddenly raged as high as the pews, the flowers created by Hilda’s magic that hung above their heads exploded in a shower of petals, Salem hissed and ran out of the church knowing full well that he might end up in his original form for the few moments the eclipse lasted and something even more peculiar happened as Sabrina finished the last alphabet and put down the quill.

The flames in the aisle surged forward and engulfed Sabrina till she could not be seen in the cocoon. Her family screamed for her, attempting to reach forward, but there was no way, and no magic could be done stably enough to bring her out of harm’s way. As the eclipse began to wane and the first light of the moon fell through the open skylight and onto Sabrina, the flames died and she stood there, unscathed and unharmed, with a head of brilliant silver-white hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another question for you guys, since you were so helpful last time, and this is a dilemma I'm facing for the next bit. Should Nick have snuck in to see Sabrina's baptism? I have quite a lot planned for them for the next one week in the story but I'm not sure if I want Nick to see her new hair in school or as and when it happened during the baptism. Thanks in advance for all the lovely ideas you guys will come up with.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick walked into the kitchen for breakfast only to come face to face with a peculiar scenario. The place that had been bustling with the sound of so many people talking over each other that he could hear the cacophony from the top of the stairs fell to uncharacteristic silence the moment everyone registered his presence. The only sound that could be heard was the gurgling of baby Judas at Prudence’s shoulder. Even the children were silently finishing their cereal. Feeling like he had intruded upon a private moment that included all the members of the household other than him, he filled a travel mug with coffee and picked up a bagel before nodding his head at Father Blackwood and walking out of the room, all this while the silence prevailed.

“Why did we fall silent?” He could hear the incredulous voice of Dorcas as he pulled on his boots, the bagel dangling from his mouth.

“Whatever happened at the Spellman girl’s baptism last night is the private matter of the coven and it is not the becoming behaviour of any devout follower to discuss their private matters before witches or warlocks outside of their own coven, Dorcas.” He heard Prudence reprimand her sister, in the exact manner of Father Blackwood as if the words had come from him, and Nick could imagine that at some point in time, they must have.

“And it would do you good to remember that, girl.” Nick heard the scrape of a chair and realized that Father Blackwood had risen from his spot after making his final say on the matter. Nick hurriedly and silently stepped out of the house before Father Blackwood could venture into the foyer to find the young warlock eavesdropping.

While Nick walked to school wondering what exactly had happened at Sabrina’s baptism that warranted such hushed conversations, the events of the previous nights were the exact substance of conversation at the Spellman breakfast table.

“Aunt Zee, why are you still angry with me?” Sabrina had been silently chewing on her food, staring at the front page of Witches Times for the past ten minutes, in which time Zelda had not even once looked at her, not even when she walked in and greeted everyone with the customary good morning.

“Sabrina, you’re asking me this question?” Zelda said with the anger she had subdued the night before and pushed the newspaper, which she really hadn’t been reading, aside. “You were late! To your own dark baptism! You didn’t hear what all those people who had come to watch Edward Spellman’s daughter be baptised were saying when they left. What are were going to say to the coven? How are we going to show our faces at church?!”

“Oh Auntie Zee, they will see Sabrina at the black mass, and they’ll know. She was only late for the ceremony, she didn’t run away from it!” Ambrose piped in, talking his sister’s side, knowing full well that it was all water under the bridge. He was just happy that the first time he had been allowed to step outside the grounds hadn’t gone as disastrously.

“Ambrose is right dear. Don’t worry your pretty little head over what people say.” Hilda placed a cup of calming tea before her sister and squeezed her shoulder.

“Oh pish-posh Hilda, I don’t worry about the gossips of idle people.”

“Then why are you still angry at me, auntie?”

“Because what in the world could have needed for you to step out of the house on the Satan blessed day of your unholy dark baptism and then make you be late for the one thing we had all been awaiting for so many years?” Zelda sternly asked and while Sabrina knew she could tell her that she had gone to see Harvey, there was no reason that she could give her aunts when they asked her why that wouldn’t lead to the roof being blown off the house, so she stayed silent. “When you can give me that answer, then we will talk about whether I should still be angry at you or not.” Zelda snatched the cup of tea off the table and marched out.

“Your Auntie is not wrong Sabrina. There’s nothing that you needed to do that could not have been done after the baptism. What happened last night because of the eclipse was terrifying and it could have been worse. Praise Satan that it didn’t. And it could’ve all been avoided if only you had been on time. She is just scared from last night, we all are.” Hilda patted her niece on her back and went after her sister. Sabrina looked up at Ambrose for some support.

“I agree with the aunties cous.” Was all Ambrose said before going back to his food.

“I went to see Harvey last night.” Sabrina said in a hushed voice her eyes going to the doorway alert for any movement of his aunties.

“What for, luv? What was left to say or do that you couldn’t do in school today?”

“I had to tell him the truth about me, about everything, before I signed away my name.”

“You…” Ambrose’s voice rose to screech making Sabrina loudly shush him. Ambrose looked back at the kitchen entryway and got up from his spot, pulling Sabrina out of her seat and out of the door leading to the back patio. “You told Harvey about you, about us? How could you do that sister!” Ambrose was in a complete freak out mode now, scared of his sister having broken the Code of Secrecy.

“Relax Ambrose, Harvey doesn’t know anything, well atleast he doesn’t remember.”

“Explain.”

“I did tell him, everything, about me, about witches being real, about soulmarks, and he absolutely freaked out, pretty similar to you right now. So I had to make him forget it. He won’t remember anything about the conversation. He won’t even remember that I went to see him last night. I made him forget it all.” Sabrina had drawn her arms around herself, being quite close to tearing up when Ambrose engulfed her in a hug.

“Oh dear.” Ambrose said in a very Hilda like way making her chuckle. “It’s okay, luv. Mortals tend to be fearful of things they know nothing about.” Ambrose said into her hair as he placed his chin on her head.

“I know. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me. And just because he is not my soulmate doesn’t mean I don’t love him too. I’m going to do what you said…” Sabrina whispered to Ambrose, making him groan wondering about which of his crazy ideas had his crazier cousin decided to act upon. “I am going to stay with him as long as I can. If he accepts my witch part, then till he lives, if not, then till we move away from this town. I can’t end this, atleast not now, I don’t have it in me.” Ambrose just nodded his head as Sabrina stepped back to look at his face, not voicing any of his dissenting thoughts. But he did wonder what good could come of a relationship whereby one person did not even accept the identity of the other.

 

Nick’s brain had spiralled into a tizzy of scandalous ideas by the time he reached school with his thoughts ranging from Sabrina’s soulmark being something very prominent, grotesque and visible to her running away from the dark baptism. He could not stop thinking of all the possible worst scenarios when he saw her walk in through the doors as he stood at his locker. Her new brilliantly silver-white hair was not what he was expecting and his hand automatically went to his elbow.

“I understand that you are infatuated with her and that that new hair looks fabulous on her, it still does not permit your ogling at her so blatantly.” Varun said coming into Nick’s field of vision but purposefully standing in a way that Nick could still see the girl from behind his shoulder.

“What are you doing, Patel?” Nick said rolling his eyes at his friend.

“Making sure that other people at this school don’t find out that you’re creepily obsessed with Harvey Kinkle’s girl. You want to stare, stare all you want, just do it a bit more…” Varun rubbed his chin thinking deeply for the right word. “…surreptitiously. I can always be your red herring.” Nick shook his head and went back to pulling his stuff out of his locker, but his mind was still on the girl who now stood mere feet away from him. He could hear her friends approaching her and the audible gasp that the Putnam boy made before explaining the reason behind it to their blind friend… Rosie?

“You changed your hair.” The confusion in Harvey’s voice would’ve been funny if not for the look of bewilderment on Harvey’s face.

“Yeah.” Sabrina’s hand self-consciously went to her locks that were pushed back with the help of a black hairband.

“Why?” Harvey’s question made Nick chuckle before he disguised it as a cough and closed his locker. “Is it because…” Harvey looked around and went closer to her to whisper into her ear. “…of what happened on Saturday night?” Nick shook his head, yet another secret of yet another night about the girl who was slowly but surely venturing closer to the reality of being his soulmate, and decided he had had his share of eavesdropping for the day walking away from there.

“No, no. I just… felt like a change. You know to feel sixteen and all that.” Sabrina said trying to push away the conversation regarding whatever had happened between the two of them over the weekend, both the things that Harvey remembered and the things that he didn’t, when her phone chimed with the arrival of a message.

_'I forgot to ask you about your soulmark. Did you check for it in the morning? Did you find it? Do you need Aunt Hilda’s help to check your back? –A.'_

Sabrina smiled down at the message thinking about her family discussing the possible shape and size of her mark over the mortuary table and shot back a quick reply.

_'I found it. I’ll tell you about it in the evening. –S.'_

“Sabrina?” Theo poked her making her look up as the four of them walked to the only class they shared in their schedules on Mondays – dramatics.

“What?”

“Roz asked about your thing with your aunts. Did it go alright?” Theo’s arm was looped around Roz’s but he was gesturing around so wildly that she had to smack him to stop him from jostling her too much.

“Oh that, yeah it went great.” Sabrina smiled as they entered the small classroom filled with about a dozen other students. As Sabrina and her friends took their spot on the semi-circular seating arrangement, Sabrina noticed Nick sitting across from her at the other end with another guy who Sabrina only knew as the token Indian kid in their year, just like Roz was the token black kid and she was the token witch, not that anyone knew of the latter.

“Alright, kids.” Their teacher said barely having taken a step into the classroom. “We have spent a whole month discussing the different types of Shakespearean plays and now for this month you are going to do a project together.” She had finished by the time she reached her desk and pulled out a glass bowl from behind it. “I have here some of the iconic and some less so but equally challenging pairing from the plays that we discussed. You’ll pass this bowl around and pick your characters. You’ll be in pairs of two. Take your pairings; pick a scene from a play or two scenes if you like. The entirety of your thing should not be longer than five minutes, though.” She said before giving the bowl to Nick who sat at the end closer to her, making Sabrina realize that she would be last to pick her chit.

The bowl was passed around and Sabrina took the last lone piece of paper lounging at the bottom before giving the empty vessel back to the teacher.

“Okay so one by one, you’ll start telling me your character. I shall make a note of it and tell you your pairing and play if you were not paying attention in class for the last whole month.” The teacher said picking up a clipboard before nodding at Nick once more.

“Benedick.” Nick said reading off his chit. “With Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing, I know.” The teacher curtly nodded at him before pointing at Varun with the end of her pen. Sabrina looked down at her slip – Beatrice – great she was paired with the one boy in class she barely knew.

“Portia.” Varun sighed next to Nick earning a thump on his back from his friend and on and on went the chain mechanically, except for the short commotion that happened when the boy who got Bottom read from his piece of paper and everyone fell into a fit of laughter at his loud rejection of the horse-headed man.

“Hero. That’s nice, but what’s the name of the character?” Harvey said making everyone who had paid attention in class laugh out loud.

“Hero is the name of the character, Harvey.” Roz said to him with a shake of her head.

“And who is the Hero’s girl then?” Harvey asked making everyone laugh even louder.

“Hero is the girl. She’s with Claudio.” Roz rolled her eyes behind the glasses that she still habitually wore.

“That’s you.” Theo said to Roz reading from the chit that Roz had pulled out from the bowl.

“Oh that’s cool! You and me together, Roz!” Harvey said patting the girl sitting next to him on her back.

“And I am Bassanio.” Theo said hesitantly, looking at the Portia sitting across from him, atleast half a foot taller than him. The class dispersed to talk amongst their own pairs while some of the pairs, where the girls had drawn the male character and the boys the female character, approached Ms. Abernathy to have their characters swapped, Sabrina got up to walk to Nick who was deep in conversation with his friend.

“Nicholas?” Sabrina tentatively said attempting to draw his attention and it was a merit to his skills that the loud the thumping of his heart at the idea of their very first conversation did not quite show on his face.

“Good morrow, my sweet Lady Disdain.” Nick said from his spot with a shining devilish smirk on his face. He turned back to look at his friend when he said something as Theo approached them and nodded when his friend walked away with his intended partner.

“Hi.” Sabrina was not even sure how to start this conversation and it only seemed the plausible thing to say as she sat down in the seat Varun had vacated.

“Hi.” Nick’s grin grew larger and more mischievous. 

“So, which scene do you think works?”

“Well sadly it’s just the two of us, otherwise I would’ve loved to do some of the early exchanges of witty banter or probably Act 2, Scene 3 and Act 3, Scene 1.” Nick nodded towards the book in Sabrina’s hand that she had picked up from the teacher’s table on her way to him.

“There’s that post-wedding disaster scene where they are alone.” Sabrina rifled through the book looking for the scene she wanted.

“Act 4, Scene 1.” Nick pointed out for her. “But I was thinking more along the lines of Act 5, Scene 2.” Sabrina turned the pages to get to the place Nick had indicated and realized that he was talking about the scene post the love confession.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Sabrina said hesitantly.

“Well let’s both read through the two scenes and discuss it tomorrow. We’ll pick whichever one we’re both comfortable with.” Nick gave her a reassuring smile and got up from his place as the bell rang. “By the way, I like the new hair, suits you.” Nick said as he slung his bag across his shoulder and walked out with that charming smile still playing at his lips.

 

Sabrina walked into the house to see the occupants hurry out of their respective rooms and chuckled at their impatience. She had received two more messages from Ambrose and one each from her aunts asking questions about her mark and if she needed some help looking for it, she deferred them all till she got back home.

“Well?” Zelda prompted, her anger forgotten or maybe diffused by her sister.

“It’s a widow’s mark.” Sabrina sighed shrugging out of her coat and hung it on its designated pew before she walked into the living room, everyone else following after her.

“Oh those accursed things, why do so many people in the world have black hair!” Ambrose said agitatedly on Sabrina’s behalf, and on the behalf of all the others too as they shared the same fate.

“Well, what’s the shape of it like?” Hilda asked.

“It looks like a claw mark on my shoulder.” Sabrina patted her left shoulder before pulling off her sweater to show it to them, standing in the chill of the room in just her camisole.

“Well, atleast the shape of it is unique.” Hilda said optimistically gesturing at Sabrina to put her sweater back on after having examined it in details.

“How does that matter, the shapes never really tell us anything.” Zelda waved her off pessimistically.

“Do they really?” Sabrina asked, intrigued. She read her fair share of texts on soulmarks and soulmates, there had been some that linked the shape and pattern of them to the soulmate’s name or personality.

“Well mine is a ring and it had nothing to do with Remus.” Hilda’s head hung low sombrely and everyone else in the room fidgeted ashamed of their part in the conversation that reminded her of her dead soulmate, lost so early on.

“If that were true, Remus should’ve been my soulmate, what with my mark being a crescent moon and all.” Ambrose joked as he gave his aunt a loving half hug.

“And I might as well become a nun with Lilith’s mark being mine.” Zelda huffed making everyone laugh.

“It should be called the lonely cat lady’s mark. Nobody is going to find their soulmate with a mark as abstract as this. Well, anyway, I’m heading upstairs to do my homework. I’ll see you all at dinner.” Sabrina sighed and decided to head to her room to freshen up.

“Oh Sabrina, I almost forgot.” Zelda made her stop in her track. “The Academy officially reopens next week. You start there on Monday. I shall come along with you tomorrow morning to your school to officially withdraw you.” Sabrina’s breath caught in her throat as the piece of news spun in her head. She had known that sooner or later she would’ve had to leave her school and join the academy once it reopened but she wasn’t expecting it this quickly. She barely nodded her head in acknowledgement at her aunt as she hurried out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I had planned to take Sabrina's last week in her mortal world and put it in one chapter, but then just day 1 of 7 hit 3k mark and i did not want to make the chapter too long. Going by this, it might be another few chapters before they all head to the Academy.  
> I went with Nick finding out about the hair at school because Nick sneaking into the church didn't really bode well with the character, atleast in my story. And lo and behold, we have the first Nabrina conversation. It also actually is the first conversation they themselves have ever had and I am satisfied with it but I would like to know what you guys thought of it.  
> Also, if anyone did not understand, a 'widow's mark' is a slang term for a black soulmark because it puts the person at a disadvantage in finding their soulmate. All four of the Spellmans have the widow's mark.


	7. Chapter 7

After a very tense conversation over the morning breakfast, Zelda had agreed to Sabrina’s idea of her withdrawal being pushed to the end of the week. In her own words she wanted to break the news as softly and calmly to her friends as possible. The scripted untruth was to be of a boarding school in Connecticut. She wasn’t sure if she could fool her friends over the fact that she had applied there at the beginning of school year and just been accepted, without having even once mentioned it to anybody.

Sabrina had spent the first half of the school day pondering and planning the ideas of when and how to tell her friends of her departure, thankfully having no classes with any of her friends till lunch, except for the AP English class that she shared with Nicholas Scratch which she was reminded of when a piece of paper landed on her desk. All it said was _‘Act 4, Scene 1 or Act 5, Scene 2? – Nick’_. She looked sideways to see Nick sitting a few seats behind in the row next to her, staring at her intently, but she didn’t give him an answer. She was contemplating telling him the truth that she was not going to be at this school from the next week onwards but was hesitant about Nick being the first to know. However, Nick approached her as she packed up her things after the class was dismissed.

“I am sorry I didn’t get the time to read through the scenes yesterday.” Sabrina said before Nick could ask her.

“Well, hello to you too, Spellman.” Nick smirked falling in step next to her as they both exited the classroom.

“Hi, Nicholas.”

“You can call me Nick.”

“Nick Scratch.” Sabrina began to giggle at the innuendo of his name before catching herself and stopping. Nick seemed to have caught on to the giggle and smiled to himself. “I am sorry I haven’t decided on the scene yet.”

“It’s okay. We have time till Monday to give Ms. Abernathy our scene but I was hoping to get a head start on atleast a scene read through.” Nick said excitedly and Sabrina could see his passion for the class clearly on her face.

“Nick, I…” She did not want to string him along knowing sooner that she would not be there to finish the project with him could help him find a new partner before the next class. “I am not going to be at this school after this week.” Sabrina looked around, praying that none of her friends were within earshot.

“You’re leaving?” Nick said in a voice barely above a whisper, not sure if Sabrina wanted the piece of information to spread around the school like wildfire, guessing from the way her eyes hurried over the whole corridor as she told him to the news.

“I am moving to a boarding school in Connecticut. I am sorry you’ll have to look for a new partner for the project.” Sabrina had a look of guilt on her face that made Nick uncomfortable.

“It’s okay Sabrina. I’ll talk to Ms. Abernathy. Don’t fret.” Nick patted her lightly on her shoulder and turned away, missing the silent gasp that escaped Sabrina’s lips. She had felt something in her mark so fleetingly that she wasn’t even sure if it had happened, a tingle that felt like goosebumps rising on her flesh. She looked at Nick’s retreating back quizzically until her field of vision was suddenly filled by Harvey who came and stood right before her.

“What are you looking at Brina?” Harvey asked turning around to see Nick greeting his friend at the end of the corridor and leaving.

“Nothing. Should we go for lunch?” Sabrina shook herself out of her thoughts and put her hand in Harvey’s.

“Sure, but I should warn you Theo has been going on and on about his play all morning. He ate my head with it throughout World History.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t that bad.”

“Well, you’ll see.”

“I am just saying that if Merchant of Venice was written in today’s time, the story would be very different, and I don’t mean because of all the court and legal stuff.” Theo was animatedly saying to a bored Roz who was more focused on the sandwich she was eating as their friends approached their table.

“What do you mean?” Sabrina asked Theo in a way to engage Theo and spare Roz some breathing space.

“Honestly, Portia is amazing and all, but I swear Antonio was Bassanio’s true soulmate.” Theo grumbled and the mention of the word soulmate made Harvey feel something in his stomach, akin to deja vu.

“I agree.” Sabrina laughed.

“They are friends, very good and close friends, that’s all.” Roz finally spoke up, annoyed at Sabrina’s support of Theo, she had wanted for her to put an end to this rant and here she was encouraging their friend.

“Friends to lovers is not a difficult road.” Sabrina shrugged her shoulders. “And they say it often in the play how much they love each other. That’s the stuff soulmates are made of. Right, Harvey?” She bumped her shoulder into her boyfriend making him look up from his food that he hadn’t yet started eating.

“Huh? Have we had this conversation before?” Harvey was confused about the fuzzy feeling in his head.

“About the Merchant of Venice?” Theo asked equally confounded.

“No, about soulmates.” Harvey asked, his brows furrowed, making Sabrina go pale for a second before composing herself.

“I doubt that.” Roz said. “I personally feel it is a very archaic patriarchal concept created by the church to make you believe in the infinite longevity of marriages and the advantages of monogamy. So, no I don’t think we have ever had a conversation about such wrongly romanticized notions.” Roz was pretty passionate in her vehemence making Sabrina question her own beliefs and ideologies even with the exclusive information she held on the topic.

“I have some news.” Sabrina decided now was as good a time as ever to get this done with. “I am moving to Connecticut.” All the conversations at the table halted to a pure silence before everyone burst out laughing.

“Nice joke Brina.”

“It’s not a joke. I’m going to a boarding school in Connecticut from the next week. My aunts will be withdrawing me from Baxter by the end of this week.” Sabrina reiterated her point and the laughter fell silent.

“You have never said anything about going to a boarding school. Where’s this coming from Brina, so out of the blue?” Harvey pulled her from her arm to face him, a little lost on where the anger was coming from as if it was pent up so deep inside even he didn’t realize it was there.

“It’s not out of the blue, Harvey.” Sabrina tried to calm him down, worried that her spell had not made Harvey forget his anger at her. “It’s a family legacy. That’s where my father went to school; it’s where my aunties went to school. They had my application sent at the start of the year, but there was no space so I did not have any hope of going. That’s why I never said anything. They had some students leave in the middle of the year so they got in touch with my aunties and they decided I must go, so I am going.” Sabrina’s head was spinning with all the lies mixed in with some of the truth, knowing that if it went any further she would have a hard time remembering the tall tales she had spun.

“So they’re making you go but you don’t want to?” By this time Roz and Theo had decided it was not their place to say anything, but they weren’t very sure if it was Harvey’s place to say anything either, regardless of his boyfriend status, with this sounding like a private Spellman family business and the one thing they knew about that family for sure was that they kept their private matters close to their chest.

“They’re not making me, I want to go. I want to study at the same place my father did. And even they know that; Aunties won’t ask me to do anything I didn’t want to.”

“And what about us?”

“Harvey I love you.” Sabrina put her hand across his where it held onto her arm. “But I can’t let a relationship get in the way of my goals and dreams. My family’s legacy means a lot to me, a lot more than you understand.”

“Oh, I understand pretty well Sabrina, this is a mere relationship to you, and it stands nowhere when it comes to your plans for the future because you don’t see me with you in that very future.” Harvey decided to end the conversation and walk out, leaving Sabrina with so much to say, but not knowing how to say it without repeating their argument from Sunday night and she helplessly watched him go.

 

Harvey was waiting outside of Roz’s classroom just a few moments after the bell rang, between the three of them, Harvey, Theo and Sabrina had built up a system to help Roz navigate the corridors between classes. Harvey wondered how they would shuffle once Sabrina left for her fancy posh school. Yet another thing, he thought, that Sabrina was going to let fall to ruin with her selfish desire to go to some weird school.

“Hey.” Roz said stopping next to him. For a while it had been weird for Harvey how Roz could sense the presence of someone else around her and even correctly identify who it was, she had just laughingly chalked it up to the sharpening of her other sense in lieu of the lost one, but sometimes it felt like magic to Harvey. Magic – just the thought of the word and that weird feeling in the pit of his stomach returned, the anger and annoyance he wasn’t even sure at whom.

“I still find that creepy.” Harvey said making her giggle as she looped her arm around his and they continued on to their next class.

“I didn’t think you would come.”

“Why? It’s my turn. I’m always here for you after World Religion.” Harvey navigated her around a group of rowdy boys taking up too much space in the corridor.

“Well you were too angry after that argument with Sabrina and I thought you would want to not talk about it with any of us.”

“I don’t.”

“Harvey, Sabrina isn’t wrong you know.”

“And now you’re taking her side.” Harvey rolled his eyes, wishing he could escape this conversation, but he couldn’t, not until he had deposited Roz to her classroom.

“I am not taking sides, Harvey. I am looking at this logically. Two years down the line, suppose you both decided to go to college to two different parts of the country, would that just mean she doesn’t love you? We both know how much her parents mean to her. She lost them too early and all her life she has clung to whatever little she could of them. Honestly, I’m surprised she even changed her hair colour as drastically as you and Theo have put it. Her aunties always said that she looked a lot like her mother with those blonde locks, and she used to love hearing that. She wanted to share her joy at getting to go to her father’s alma mater and here you are, asking her to prioritize you over the legacy of her dead parent. Are you even hearing how selfish of you that sounds?” Roz always knew precisely where to hit them all with her logic, and this time it was at his guilt. They had come to a halt outside of Roz’s classroom and at this point, Harvey would’ve run down the corridor to his class before the bell rang, but Roz had a firm grip on his upper arm.

“She’s deciding to go away and leave us all behind as if we mean nothing to her. Going away to college would’ve been a natural progression of things, this right now, it’s way too abrupt for me Roz.”

“Just because it’s abrupt for you, doesn’t mean she’s doing something wrong or selfish. Long-distance relationships take time and effort but they are not impossible to do. Talk to her, sort this out, the logistics of it, if you want to stay with her, which I think you do because I know how much you both love each other. You’ve been together for two years and this is the first major fight you have had ever, and if this leads to a break-up, I will be very disappointed in both of you, but especially with you Harvey.” Roz slid her hand down his arm and gave his hand a gentle squeeze before feeling her way into the classroom right as the bell rang. Harvey stood there for a moment before turning around to head to his own class, too much weighing down on his mind.

 

For the first time in a while, they had converged at Harvey’s locker instead of at Sabrina’s at the end of the school day, where they stood waiting for the owner of the locker.

“Did you hear about Ms. Abernathy railing into Billy Marlin today? Apparently, it happened outside the dramatics classroom right after her class with the juniors was let out, and it was hilarious or so I have heard.” Theo was grinning giddily at the gossip he was sharing.

“What for?” Sabrina asked, her eyes trained at the other end of the corridor, waiting for Harvey to appear.

“His partner in the project is another guy and they’re supposed to be Romeo and Juliet, so he wanted his partner changed. Ms. Abernathy ripped into him till kingdom come and I’m pretty sure he got so pissed that he threatened to complain to the Principal and that made her rip him a new one. It was hilarious and fascinating. What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall during that scene. Well long story short, Ms. Abernathy has issued a notice that anybody who comes to her for any change whatsoever in their project – partners, characters, play – is automatically going to fail the project. She was looking damn scary when she caught hold of Varun to get the news around, he just told me a few minutes ago.” Theo had a light blush on his cheeks by the end of the story and Sabrina couldn’t tell if it was a flush from saying his whole piece in one breath or from the mention of his project partner however her train of thoughts was broken when Harvey approached them with Roz holding onto him.

“Brina, can we talk?” Harvey asked hesitantly, an echo of himself a week ago, but making Sabrina feel the collective weight of all the conversations that had happened since. Theo helped Roz open her locker which was two down from Harvey’s, in a bid to give the quarrelling lovebirds some space.

“Okay.” Sabrina said and Harvey led her out after saying quick goodbyes to Theo and Roz and Sabrina felt the acute absence of his hand in hers as they walked to the same alcove where he had first told her that he loved her.

“I’m not upset at your plan to move to a different school Sabrina.” Harvey suddenly turned around to face her when they had not even reached the spot they were walking towards. “I am just hurt that you did not even talk to me before you made this decision, like I don’t even count in your life.”

“Harvey that’s not true at all.” Sabrina reached forward to take Harvey’s hand. “I did think of us before I made this decision. I believe that we are capable of being with each other even when we are a distance apart, and this faith gave me the strength to make this decision. I’m doing this for my future and for my dreams and I thought you would be happy for me.”

“Sabrina I’m always going to be happy about you going after your dreams. But you could’ve talked to me about it, discussed it with me, before just making a decision on a whim.”

“It is not a whim, Harvey.”

“Come on Sabrina, it does sound a little whimsical. We’re talking about high school here, not college. There’s nothing you can get over at the posh school of yours that you won’t get here at Baxter High. You’re trading your life here, your home, your friends to go chase a ghost from your father’s past.” Sabrina would’ve stopped herself if she could’ve taken a few calming breathes but Harvey’s words had stolen the air out of her lungs and she couldn’t stop the slap that resounded against his cheek.

“Out of everyone, I thought you would understand my need to go there. You’ve been my oldest friend, you’ve known me longer than even Roz or Theo. I didn’t expect this of you.” Sabrina had tears in her eyes threatening to fall but she did not want to break down in the middle of the football field with a few players standing spectacle to the argument that had taken place and she turned and fled from there, leaving Harvey dumbstruck in her wake.

 

The next morning, Sabrina was nowhere to be seen in hallways till the first bell rang, but then neither was Harvey and Theo and Roz finally decided to abandon their watch at her locker in fear of getting marked tardy. When they swung by her locker before lunch, the lock on it was open. Theo hurriedly opened the locker and saw that it had been cleared out. A passing student told them that he had seen her in the Principal’s office that morning with her Aunt and they realized that she had withdrawn herself from school that morning instead of on Friday like she had said she wanted to do, and both of them feared it had something to do with Harvey.

That morning, a little after everyone else was already in their classes, Sabrina and Zelda Spellman had walked into the school for the last time. Zelda had been a little taken aback when a red-eyed and tired Sabrina had told her that morning that she wanted to finish the process of withdrawal from Baxter High that day itself but she had held in all questions and inquisitions upon a look on the sad and broken face of her niece. After a short conversation with the Principal, while Zelda took care of the paperwork, with the best to her knowledge of mortal administrative work and with a little help of some simple magic, Sabrina went to talk to Ms. Abernathy, having learnt from the office that she had a free period that morning.

Sabrina found her teacher in her office, poring over some papers when she knocked on the door.

“Sabrina, come in, come in.” Ms. Abernathy said cheerfully for one of her favourite students. “I believe you’re here because Nicholas has had a talk with you. I was pretty upset with him for wanting to abandon the project like that and leaving you stranded. You both are two of my favourites in your class and I had been so very glad at the happy coincidence of getting to see you work together.”

“Nick withdrew from the project?”

“Ah yes. I thought he had talked to you. I explicitly told him to tell you the news himself and to find you a replacement partner, otherwise, he doesn’t get any marks. What else did you come here for?”

“I came here to tell you personally that I was leaving the school and not to let it negatively affect Nick’s grade on the project in case he can’t find a replacement for me.”

“That’s a little disappointing. I’m sad to see you go. It’s weird that your partner withdrew from the project right when you were withdrawing yourself from school. But I guess it all worked out fine in the end. I wish great luck for whatever you have planned for yourself and I’m sure we will all miss you in class.” 

“Thank you, Ms. Abernathy.” Sabrina took the hand her teacher extended for her to take as she stood up and shook it firmly before turning around to leave. “Uh, if I may ask, why did Nick withdraw from the project?” Sabrina halted in her steps and turned around to ask.

“He didn’t give me much of a concrete reason. He just said it was something personal. All he told me was that he would get me a Leave to Withdraw from the Principal and that he was fine doing a book report on Much Ado About Nothing in lieu if I would accept it. It was all a little frustrating but I couldn’t get anything out of him beyond that.” Sabrina nodded at her and decided to leave the topic at that.

As she met with her aunt on her way to her locker, she saw Nicholas walking away from his with a bag in hand. She wanted to stop him and ask him some questions, but all she got was an acknowledging nod and a smirk as they crossed paths.

 

“Ambrose, I don’t even know what’s gotten into him. He’s treating it like it’s the end of our relationship if I choose to go to the Academy.” Ambrose had cornered his cousin in her room after hearing of the withdrawal from Zelda and found her sobbing into her pillow. After a bit of coaxing, Sabrina had finally told her brother the truth. “Regardless of the fact that the Academy will teach me the skills I need to get better at everything, regardless of the fact that it is the only place where I can learn all those things, the main reason I want to go there is for my parents! My father was the headmaster of that place, there’s so much of him there that I’ve never been able to know and this gives me the chance to. I felt like Harvey would understand that but he threw it in my face like I was a child throwing a tantrum for a toy.” Sabrina had taken to sobbing into Ambrose’s shirt and he was drawing soothing circles on her back with gentle shushing when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Roz had made up her mind to go and check on Sabrina midway through the school day and her father had been supportive when she had told him the reason, agreeing to drop her at the Spellman Mortuary instead of at home. That was how Roz found herself standing outside Sabrina’s door with her aunt Hilda’s guiding hand on her arm, listening to Sabrina cry her heart out before her aunt decided to knock and let their presence be known.

“Roz is here darling.” Hilda said into the room as Ambrose opened the door to see Sabrina’s friend standing before him.

“Sabrina, are you okay?” Roz said as she navigated her way towards the bed, having learnt her way around the room in all her various visits to the Spellman house. Ambrose waited till Roz was comfortably seated next to Sabrina, before letting himself out and closing the door behind himself.

“I am okay Roz.” Sabrina wiped her face while Roz tried to hold onto her hand making her flail around a little till Sabrina put her hands in hers.

“It’s fine, Brina. I heard what you were telling Ambrose. I’m so sorry Harvey said all that to you.”

“You don’t need to be sorry Roz, it’s him who needs to be sorry.”

“I’m sure he is Sabrina. He looked all sad and mopey, Theo told me. He didn’t even say anything all day.”

“Being sad and mopey doesn’t mean he’s sorry.” Sabrina laid her head on her best friend’s shoulder and Roz motherly patted her cheek.

“He’ll come around, just give him some time. Now tell me about this new school of yours, when do you leave?”

“Saturday. We have an orientation on Sunday before my classes start on Monday.”

“Orientation?” Roz asked in confusion since Sabrina was joining in the middle of the school year, and Sabrina couldn’t help rolling her eyes at yet another lie that she would have to concoct.

“Yeah for me and a few other new joiners in the middle of the school year. That’s why it is on a Sunday.”

“Oh, okay. Are you excited about it?”

“Oh, so so much! My aunts keep on talking about all the professors and subjects they had, and I can’t wait to be taught by them. It’s been so long since I’ve dreamt of going there and thinking I’d never get to, that this is feeling very surreal. I’m sad that I have to leave you guys behind but I can’t help but be giddily happy at going.” Sabrina let out such a sweet sigh of satisfaction that Roz laughed out at her excitement.

By the time Roz’s mother was there to pick her up a few hours later, they had spent a long amount of time chatting and gossiping, even packing up a little of Sabrina’s belongings. When Roz left, she left Sabrina a little bit light hearted from that morning and that was all she had wanted to achieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here are two more days of the week done, hopefully in the next chapter we will atleast get to the orientation. Now for the question(s) of the update? That sounds about right.  
> 1\. Do you guys think Harvey was out of character here with him not supporting Sabrina?  
> 2\. Which is better TheoxBilly or TheoxVarun? I personally like him with Varun because he's a nice guy and I wasn't really sold on Billy's redemption arc on the show.


	8. Witch Academy

By the time Sunday rolled around Sabrina was fully prepared to leave for the Academy. Waking up on weekday mornings without anywhere to be and with nothing specific to do had bored her to death. While Roz and Theo had dropped by every day after school, good-naturedly helping her pack the stuff she really didn’t need to take considering she would be boarding at the Academy only on weekdays, there had been radio silence from Harvey and Sabrina was glad to escape the stifling silence of her room that ate at her in the middle of the nights.

“Now remember, you are not taking your familiar with you. Only children and sissies do that.” Zelda had been rushing through the kitchen, at the same time finishing her tea and putting on her earrings. Sabrina was still feeling pretty sleepy and was thankful that she didn’t have to be there till later in the afternoon, unlike her aunt. “I will see you in the hallowed halls in the day.” Zelda uncharacteristically planted a kiss on the top of her niece’s head and teleported out of there before Sabrina could even react to it.

“Uh don’t listen to her luv. I took my spiders to the Academy with me in my day.” Hilda said putting a pile of small packets in front of her.

“Protection charms? Really Aunt Hilda?” Sabrina asked as she sipped on her cup of tea.

“While all of you will be new there, there will be plenty of older witches and warlock on the lookout to exert their dominance. Do not rule out harrowing.” Hilda murmured a charm over Sabrina’s head as she crossed over to the other end of the kitchen. “Your auntie Zee might think its harmless little fun, but all those things never happened to her.”

“I know how to take care of myself, Aunt Hilda. Do not worry about me.” Sabrina smiled at her aunt who once again came over and hugged her, her emotions all over the place when Ambrose entered the room with his hands behind his back.

“I have a glorious gift for your dear cousin.” Ambrose declared ceremoniously before placing in front of her an ornate hand mirror.

“A looking glass? What for? I have my witchboard and even my cellphone for that matter.” Sabrina picked it and looked into it and found the back of Ambrose’s head staring back, making her giggle.

“I’ve spelled a pair of these, and the other one is with me.” Ambrose waved around an identical one. “These were given to me by dear old Bess Houdini right before my incarceration. So you better take great care of it.” Ambrose chuckled as Sabrina launched herself into his arms and clung from his tall stature.

“I am going to miss you, Cousin Ambrose.”

“And I, you, dear sister.” Ambrose hugged her back. “You’re on the precipice of a great adventure and I want to know all the juicy details, especially about your hot new classmates.”

“Always on point, this boy.” Hilda chuckled as she left the cousins to chat.

 

Sabrina had been afraid that she was running late when her aunt dropped her a little off the railroads leading up the abandoned Gehenna Station that had forever been used as the entrance to the Academy from Greendale, but she took a breath of relief when she saw a few other people her age walking towards the building, some having teleported to the edge of the woods, some having been driven there, like her. They were still only a little time left for the commencement address, making Sabrina dash towards the Desecrated Church where they had been told to assemble.

Sabrina rushed to the front where her aunt stood, next to a pew, looking at her with a disapproving glare and hurried her into the seat she had saved for her right when the side doors opened and in strode Father Blackwood in his regalia, followed by a dozen other older-looking witches and warlocks while Zelda hurriedly fell in line with them.

“My dearest children!” Blackwood began to address the students and a hush fell upon the crowd. “It’s my greatest honour to reopen this esteemed institution and attempt to reinstate it to its former glory, while it is your honour to be the first batch to the Academy of Unseen Arts in my era as the Headmaster. This institution has always been the greatest and single most respected establishment that has given birth to many of the known figures revered in our community and I am glad to reopen its door the likes of you. Now to introduce you to your teachers.” He spread his arm towards the side where the group stood, Sabrina beamed at her Aunt standing in front with her head held high. “Brother Lovecraft will be taking the conjuring and binding classes for the students with higher aptitudes.” The tall balding man that Blackwood had pointed towards barely nodded his head with a surly expression on his face. “Sister Carswell will be overseeing Latin and Herbalism and Sister Jackson will be teaching Symbolism and Sacred Geometry.”

Sabrina had begun to get bored by the time Father Blackwood reached the fifth teacher in the lot so she began to look around at the sea of new faced she was surrounded by. With one last look at her aunt whose sole concentration was on the headmaster, she showed the audacity of sneakily turning around in her spot to look at the students behind. Her jaw fell when she chanced upon a familiar face a few rows down on the other side, disbelieving the fact of seeing that face in these surroundings, because sitting next to Prudence with his solitary focus on Sabrina was Nicholas Scratch.

Nick let out a chuckle when he saw the immense surprise on her face, drawing Prudence’s attention to him. Prudence looked at him to see his focus elsewhere and turned to see Sabrina looking towards them, her mouth agape in astonishment. Nick gestured at Sabrina to turn her attention back to the front while Prudence scowled looking at this exchange.

“Sister Spellman will be the director of the Satanic Choir and will also be teaching the Satanic Scriptures.” Sabrina turned around to see her aunt slightly nod her head towards the students as Father Blackwood neared the lady who stood hidden in the back. “And last, but not the least, Sister Wardwell here will be teaching Demonology.”

“Now now, I would prefer they call me Ms. Wardwell, Faustus.” The raven-haired lady walked out of the shadows and stood as tall as the Father himself on her red high heels, giving him a curt nod in response to the raised eyebrows and the grimace he shot towards her.

“Ms. Wardwell.” Blackwood said through clenched teeth while everyone silently judged the usage of his first name by a mere teacher as he turned back towards the student body. “You all may pick up your schedules and other necessary details from the antechamber. You are now dismissed and free to intermingle amongst yourselves. Do not forget, dinner will be in the dining halls at 9 pm.” Father Blackwood said with a wave of his hands and the crowd stood up from its place at once, some walking towards the door he had indicated, others to talk amongst themselves, as the faculty strode out the way they had come in. While Sabrina sat in her spot, still confused and surprised, Nicholas stood up to approach her as the Sisters decided to get their schedules.

“Nicholas Scratch? You’re a warlock!” Sabrina felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around to see his brilliant smile behind her she said out loud as if saying the words would make them make some semblance of sense, and Nick laughed once again at the surprise on her face.

“Nick, I asked you call me Nick.”

“How come I didn’t know? We have gone to the same school forever! How?”

“I don’t go to your church, neither do I belong to your coven, so there’s no way you could’ve seen me outside of Baxter and known that I was a warlock and not a mortal. And besides, we haven’t gone to the same school forever, hardly two years.”

“Well, that explains your date with Prudence Night at Cee’s.” Sabrina mumbled to herself under her breath but Nick caught on and stopped himself from laughing at the one thing Sabrina had seemed to get stuck on. He held the door open as they walked out of the halls of the church into the foyer.

“That wasn’t a date. Just brought a friend out for a milkshake.” Nick looked around to see that none of the new congregates of the institution were paying attention to them, especially the ones who knew him, before leaning in to speak into her ear, “This secret I’m telling you upon grave danger to my life – Prudence has a sweet tooth,” making Sabrina laugh.

“Ms. Abernathy said you abandoned the project. Why didn’t you just tell her that you were leaving school too?”

“I didn’t want to make it weird and suspicious with both of us leaving the school at the same time. Besides I spelled my way into the school two years ago, I just spelled that existence away. The administrative work would’ve been a hassle.” Nick waved the idea off in dismissal.

“The admin work would’ve been a hassle but collectively wiping yourself from the memory of a whole school wasn’t.” Sabrina rolled her eyes at the nerdiness of the former quarterback.

“Oh, it was fun. In the beginning, it actually was an assignment from Father Blackwood to successfully do and sustain an en masse spell. It was really enjoyable to do. It took me over a week but I liked it and then I developed a fondness for the place so I asked Father Blackwood to let me stay. I used to study at a mortal kindergarten as a child, and I remember I used really enjoy that.” Nick refrained from telling her that it was the night where he had bumped into her when he had made up his mind to stay.

“You’re a weird guy Scratch. I don’t know anyone else who would voluntarily choose to go to a mortal high school, for fun.” Sabrina elbowed him teasingly, but also genuinely happy that there was someone in this place other than her Aunt that she truly knew.

“Well Nicky seems a little weird, but that’s why he fits right in with us.” Prudence interrupted this happy conversation as she and her sisters walked to them and Prudence put her hand on his shoulder while Nick smiled at her. Prudence handed Nick a package labelled with his name that he took with his free hand while the other hand snaked around her waist, making Sabrina doubt his earlier statements a little. “Nicky dear, Father Blackwood wishes to see you.” Prudence stared pointedly at Sabrina before turning towards Nick with a sweet smile.

“Alright. It was nice to see you Sabrina.” Nick gave her his patent smile and walked away.

“Nice to see to you here, mortal.” Prudence sneered at her once Nick was gone.

“Half-mortal.” Sabrina said pointedly. “Half witch too, let me remind you as you seem to have forgotten.”

“Being Edward Spellman’s daughter still doesn’t make you half a decent one. Nice hair by the way.” Prudence said dismissively before walking away with her sisters in tow. Sabrina rolled her eyes at the antics of the orphan girls she had known and tolerated for quite a while and turned around to get to her schedule, excited to learn of her classes and extracurricular that she would be filling her time with.

 

Nick found Sabrina sitting alone on a table during dinner, hunched over a book, absentmindedly shovelling her food into her mouth.

“Already getting into the coursework?” Nick sat down opposite to her on the bench and peered into the book in her hands.

“I might be excited about my time here at the Academy, but I am not that far gone on the path to nerddom like you.” Sabrina teased as she put the book down and Nick got a glance at the title to see that she had been reading the Grimm’s Tales. “Besides there’s nothing interesting in my schedule for me to be that excited about.”

“How so? Which classes do you have?”

“Well, I was given a list of subjects to choose from, based on my aptitude, though I am not sure how they judged it.” Sabrina wiped her hands with a napkin before pulling a paper out of her bag and handing it over to Nick.

“Latin, Scriptures, Choir, Herbalism, Symbology, Ancient Tongues… this is the academy’s general requirement for the newly baptised witches. Your aptitude wasn't judged, Spellman, it was assumed to be zero.” Nick chuckled as he put the paper down and looked at the scowl gracing Sabrina’s face.

“And what classes are you taking?”

“Not many. I am taking Conjuring, Binding, and Banishment, but mostly in a Teaching Assistant’s capacity on Father Blackwood’s insistence. Symbology, Necromancy, Demonology, and Ritual Magic, just for the fun of it. Other than that, I’m here to study on my own.” Nick shrugged as he cited off the names of the classes Sabrina desperately wished to be in.

“Oh so you aren’t just the little genius of the school, you’re also the headmaster’s favourite.” Sabrina scrunched up her nose and teased making Nick laugh.

“The perks of having been his protégé for four years.”

“You are the Church of Morningstar kid whom Father Blackwood is mentoring!” Sabrina was yet again surprised at the information she was learning about this person she had just brushed off as the new kid for so long.

“Happy realization, Spellman.” Nick chuckled as he picked a fork kept nearby and took a bite of the pastry from Sabrina’s plate.

“Where’s your food Scratch and why are you stealing my dessert?” Sabrina prodded away his fork with her own but not before he successfully stole another bite.

“I already ate at the Orphanage with everybody. I just came to see you. Our conversation was cut short earlier.”

“You’re not staying at the dorms?”

“Not all nights. I’m still keeping my room at the Orphanage. The kids there are a handful and I’m sure the girls would be glad for any help they could get.”

“The Weird Sisters, taking care of children. That would be a sight to see.”

“Well they are pretty good governesses and the children are quite well behaved around them, what else would you need.” Nick pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and out came a length of woollen string with it making him chuckle as he tried to remember which of the kids it belonged to.

“Right.” Sabrina was still unable to imagine the Sisters as anything but the tormentors she had always know them to be. “I wanted to ask you about the spell you did at school. I am intrigued. How long did it take you to undo it?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly undo it. It was a bit more complicated than merely reversing it.” Nick had picked the string and was absentmindedly making a cat’s cradle out of it. “It took me around three days. It was faster than doing the spell the first time. There was some tweaking here and there over time to perfect it when I did the spell, so the reversing it all in one go took lesser time. The main thing to remember when you do a spell that you might need to reverse later…” Nick extended the simple hand trap he made towards Sabrina and she humoured him by putting her hand inside and promptly got it trapped in as he unfurled the pattern. “…is to leave a backdoor. That makes it easier to come back and reverse it instead of having to place a new charm to undo the previous one.” Nick put his fingers back into the strings and pulled them out again, leaving Sabrina’s hand free of the snare and gave her his brilliant smile.

“You are a weird one Nicholas.”

“Merci, Madamoiselle.” Nick curtsied with as much flourish as he could show will still sitting and the chime of Sabrina’s laughter rang through the room, making Nick a lot more enchanted with her than he was at Baxter High.

 

When Lilith had been sent to the mortal plane with orders from the Dark Lord to keep an eye on Sabrina and not let her diverge from the Path of Night for He had great plans for her, she had been a little more delighted than needed. While she loved her home and her dominion over Edom, she did love to roam the wide expanse of the mortal world, and she would hardly accept before anyone let alone Lucifer himself, but it satisfied her on the days when she missed the garden, still.

She had chosen for herself a mortal body, created it to her requirements and to the perfection she would not do without but she was not expecting to receive a soulmark, though it was also another requirement to keep up the ruse.

She stared at herself in the large mirror in the quarters she had claimed for herself as a teacher at the Academy and looked at the small dagger shaped scar in brilliant crimson at the front of her right shoulder with a scowl. The placement of this mark was a hindrance for the type of outfits she had planned on wearing with this body before she decided to throw a jacket on top of her dress with a sigh. She hoped this mortal girl was worth all the trouble and that she would finally get the one thing she had wanted for all eternity, the one thing the Dark Lord had promised her in return of safekeeping of this one little half-witch – the throne by his side.

The idea that this child was worth the promise of the throne made her even more intrigued and curious about her and her origins and she decided she was in the right place to find it out. She touched up her lipstick and walked out of her room to start the day as Mary Wardwell, the demonology professor at the Academy of Unseen Arts.

 

In the morning, Sabrina had wanted to be up bright and early to meet her aunt for breakfast before the morning choir practice, but the weird screams they had heard in the middle of the night had kept her awake even past the witching hour. She woke up abruptly a little before eight, having missed breakfast and with hardly fifteen minutes at hand to get dressed and reach the Desecrated Church. She found a packed lunch on her bedside table, surely from her Aunt Hilda, with a paper underneath it in the unmistakable handwriting of her Aunt Zelda that said – _‘You missed breakfast. You better not be late for your first class with me.’_

She made it to the class barely in time and saw more than half of the school strength converged in the halls. By the time Father Blackwood came to oversee, Zelda had divided up the class in groups of similar vocal strengths and sent out more than a dozen of students with humble ministrations about the fact that if she let them sing in the choir, the Dark Lord would punish her for the transgression.

“Sister Zelda, how goes the practice?” Father Blackwood strode in and the choir fell silent mid-note.

“Quite well Father Blackwood, for the first class. Do you need anything?” Zelda had been a little annoyed at the disturbance in her very first class and hoped that she got more control over her teaching than this.

“Oh yes. I was in my office and just came to the realization that Winter Solstice is merely six weeks away. As you are aware that the Academy traditions dictate that the student body put up a play before the Solstice Feast, I have come to put you in charge of it.” Father Blackwood said with a curt nod and walked away before Zelda could even thank him for the honour. Zelda looked at his retreating form and reprimanded herself for her misdemeanour before deciding to apologize to him in private later and turning back to her class.

“Well, all of you heard Father Blackwood. So I assume that would be our very first assignment.” Zelda smoothed her palms over her dress and sat down on the piano stool. “Now, suggestions for the play?” She gestured for them to sit down and while some took a seat on the edge of the podium, some sat down in the pews.

“How about one of the Grimm’s Tales?” A girl sitting in the back said.

“This is a sacred institution, child, not a mortal high school. It does not behoove us to put up fairytales, no matter how gruesome, on a hallowed day as the Solstice.” Zelda dismissed the girl with a stern reprimand.

“How about the tale of Yetzar and Hara? The first disciples to be awarded soulmarks for their devotion to the Dark Lord.” Sabrina suggested and a lot of students murmured their approval. Nick smiled at her as she looked around to see other students agreeing with her. However, the discussion was interrupted when the doors opened once again a small boy ventured in, determinately walking towards Zelda.

“Father Blackwood has sent this for you, miss.” The little page that Sabrina had seen walking around the corridors gave a booklet to her aunt before walking out, not paying anyone else much attention.

“It seems like Father Blackwood has already chosen the play.” Zelda said before turning the booklet towards her class. “The Passion of Lucifer Morningstar. The auditions will be after classes are done today, at 5pm. You are all dismissed for your next class.” Zelda waved them off before she began reading the script sent to her.

 

Sabrina was thoroughly bored out of her mind after her classes got over for that day and she was worried that she would soon regret her excitement of being here if that continued. By the time she reached the Church, the audition was already on in full swing, Father Blackwood, Zelda, and Sister Jackson stood before the podium while Dorcas and Agatha stood ready to recite their lines. Nick gestured for her to come and sit next to her when he saw her enter.

“What did I miss?” Sabrina sat down next to him as he handed her an extra copy of the script that he had snagged.

“Nothing much. Dorcas is attempting to read for Lilith but the teachers have been arguing amongst themselves.”

“Have you read through the script yet?” Sabrina was flipping through the pages, glimpsing through, trying to find a part that she liked enough to audition with. The Passion of Lucifer Morningstar was something they had all read and studied ever since they were children, they all knew the story by heart, but what stared at her from the pages was something a bit different.

“I helped him put it down.” Nick chuckled making Sabrina roll her eyes. Nick scooted a little closer after looking at the adults still busy in their conversation. “To be honest, it is quite disappointing. It’s more of Father Blackwood’s twisted wish fulfilment instead of the actual one.” He said to her in a hushed voice. “I liked your idea of Yetzar Hara more. Would have made for one hell of a play.”

“You could’ve been a great Yetzar.” Sabrina nudged him with her shoulder and he smiled.

“You’ve hardly seen me act.”

“I have seen you in Ms. Abernathy’s class.”

“Yeah. And I have seen you.” Nick answered. “You would be the perfect Hara.”

“Just like Benedick and Beatrice.”

“Oh, how I wish we got to finish that assignment atleast.” Nick put a hand to his heart. “ _I do love nothing in the world so well as you – is not that strange?_ ” The loving gaze with which Nick was looking at her, made her blush.

“ _As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible for me to say I loved nothing so well as you._ ” Sabrina tried to bring the same emotion and look on her face and failed miserably before falling into a fit of laughter and Nick followed suit.

“Sabrina and Nicholas, you both seem to be very well versed with the script and prepared. How about you read for Lilith and Lucifer now?” Zelda sternly said as the two laughing kids looked up to see Sister Jackson storming out of the church. They looked at each other and decided to get on with it instead of protesting their unpreparedness. As they climbed onto the stage, Dorcas and Agatha crossed them on their way off and Sabrina earned a hardened glare from the sisters.

Even unprepared the chemistry between the two of them was unmistakable and was worth a callback, the two co-directors of the play decided, to the annoyance of the Weird Sisters, and to Nick’s pleasure for it gave him more of a chance to spend time with Sabrina.

“We weren’t too bad.” Sabrina said happily as they walked out towards the dining hall for dinner. “This was atleast better than the rest of my day. If I have to continue to study Ancient Languages and Latin for another week I’ll die of boredom. Is there a way I can move to higher classes?” Sabrina desperately asked Nick as they sat down to eat.

“Well, the simpler but tedious way would be to wait till the end of the term.”

“Didn’t you hear me Nick, another week and I might die. You’re asking me to wait three months!” Sabrina banged her head on the table.

“Why are you so tired of these subjects already?” Nick laughed and put his hand under her head before she could bang it on the table again.

“I might not have had a mentor but my Aunts and Cousin have taught me quite well all these years. These basic subjects, I am quite well versed in. I have studied my scriptures plenty of times, practiced Latin and other Ancient Tongues over the years. I am bored studying them all over again!”

“Well, then the other way would be to demand an aptitude test. You pass the general requirements and you can take up atleast the mid-level classes like Ritual Magic, Demonology, Invocation and others.”

“And how do I start on Conjuring and Binding practices?” Sabrina asked excitedly.

“You’re so the daughter of Edward Spellman.” Nick laughed.

“You knew my father?”

“I know of your father. He was a controversial figure in the witch community. He did have quite some radical ideas, though I found them quite brilliant. He was the greatest Conjurer your Church has ever produced. I am studying his journals right now. His teachings are what got me interested in Conjuring and Binding.” Nick had a gleam in his eyes as he began to talk about the teachings of Edward Spellman and Sabrina could see clear as day the kind of reverence he had for her father.

“Nicky, Sabrina.” They looked up to see Prudence and her sisters standing before them with their food trays in hand. “We are not disturbing are we?”

“No not at all.” Nick said.

“Join us.” Sabrina gestured for them to sit, genuinely wanting to get to know them better for the sake of Nick.

“Well Sabrina, how are you enjoying the Academy so far? Is it anything like your mortal school?” Prudence asked making the two of them look at each other and burst out laughing imagining Baxter High anything akin to the Academy of Unseen Arts.

“No, not really.” Sabrina in the middle of attempting to tamp down her laughter.

“Well, I guess the stark lack of the mortal friends and the mortal boyfriend would be a disappointment.” Prudence prodded and Sabrina felt the hurt of her last conversation with Harvey stabbing at her again. Nick looked over at Sabrina at the mention of Harvey, knowing what had transpired between them, having overheard some of the conversation that day, and began to say something when they were interrupted once again, this time by a group of boys Sabrina knew none of.

“Nicholas, may we speak with you?” The tall, dark-haired boy, standing in front at the assumed position of the leader, asked.

“Sure, Lucas.” Nick said getting up from his seat. “See you later ladies.” He smiled at the four girls sitting at the table before turning to his best friend in general. “And Prudence, don’t be a bitch.” He left with a wink to Sabrina, leaving Prudence seething in her seat.

“Who was that?” Sabrina questioned.

“The Judas Boys.” Prudence answered but gave nothing away as further explanation. For a while they sat there in awkward silence before Sabrina decided to escape back to her dorm to try and sleep of the tiredness of the day, hoping fruitlessly that there were no more weird screams in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Nabrina is here! Goodness, even I felt like it's been too much time into the story without a proper Nabrina interaction. The Baxter High one hardly counts. I'm going to get some of the conflicts rolling by the next chapter hopefully. I had quite some plans for the Yetzar Hara play but I wasn't sure I could do justice to any storyline I put in it while also balancing the actual one, so I decided to let Faustus have his weird play.


	9. Chapter 9

After three nights of blood-curdling screams disturbing her sleep and two days of being on the verge of sleeping through her lectures due to sheer boredom, by the time Wednesday morning rolled around, Sabrina had made up her mind to march to Father Blackwood’s office and demand an aptitude test for herself. The sleep deprivation had gravely hindered her ability to think sensibly and she didn’t find anything wrong with barrelling through the office doors without a single thought or even a knock.

“Ms. Spellman, I would expect you to have more restraint than to randomly barge into the Headmaster’s office like this.” Faustus Blackwood barely looked up from the paper that he was writing on. As he finished his work he looked up to level a glare at her before passing the paper on to Ms. Wardwell who sat before him.

“I… I am sorry Father Blackwood.” Sabrina stuttered, losing grip on all that she had practiced in her head on the way there.

“What can I do for you?”

“Father, I would like to change my classes.”

“What for?”

“I am currently studying Latin, Ancient Languages and Scriptures amongst other things that I have been well versed with over the years. I wish to move on to more advanced courses such as Demonology, Conjuring, Binding.”

“You need to fulfill the Academy’s general requirements first. If you perform well at the end of the term, we shall look into putting you in the more advanced lessons. You may go now.” Blackwood got up from his place, looking at his watch before dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

“But Father…” Sabrina attempted to say more, however, she was not sure of what she wished to say.

“Now, Faustus, let’s not be in a hurry to dismiss, listen to the little girl first.” Wardwell said from her perch as she looked back at the girl standing just a few steps into the room. “I for one would love to have this feisty one in my Demonology classes. Maybe you could test her and see where her talents lie. Anybody would be as restless as her if those are the subjects you got them studying.” The lady before him scoffed making Faustus desperately attempt to reel in his anger. It would do him no good to lash out at a person close enough to the Dark Lord to be placed at the institute at his unholy behest, no matter how patronizingly the witch talked to him.

“Alright, Sabrina, you shall be given an exam on Sunday, on all the subjects you are currently taking and based on the assessment of your aptitude I shall decide which lessons to put you in. Now go, scamper off and get to those books, because if you can’t clear this test, then you shall be studying them not for just one semester but for the whole of the coming academic year. Also, you can’t skip your classes until the test is done. I expect to see you sitting in all of them for the rest of the week.” Sabrina did not wait another moment before rushing off after shooting a brilliant smile to the teacher who had taken her side.

She had a skip in her step as she entered the dining hall for breakfast and chanced upon Nick sitting at a table, deep in conversation with a boy she had over the days learned to identify as a meek but loveable warlock by the name of Melvin.

“Hey Nick, Hi Melvin.” Sabrina said cheerfully as she sat down before them with her food in hand. Melvin gave her a gentlemanly nod before deciding to leave the two to their conversations.

“Hey Spellman, you look happy this unholy morning. Slept too well?” Nick asks cockily.

“Barely, I am functioning on two hours of shut-eye and copious amounts of caffeine. But I am happy because I went to Father Blackwood to ask for a test and he agreed!” Sabrina had been dying to tell him the news from the moment she had exited the Headmaster’s office. Nick smiled back at her excitement.

“That’s great news, Spellman! I didn’t think you could get Blackwood to agree to it so quickly.”

“The talk was basically a disaster but Ms. Wardwell was there and she convinced Father Blackwood to give me a chance. I have a test on Sunday. I’m so excited and so nervous!”

“No need to be nervous. You can ace these subjects in your sleep, any half-decent witch could. It was only a matter of having the guts to go to Blackwood and demand the assessment.”

“That’s true, but I’ve never taken a magical test. I don’t even know the terms to be followed.”

“No sweat, I’ll talk you through it. We have four days, that’s one too many.” Nick gave her a wink as he stole a piece of bacon from her plate before getting up to leave. “I’ll catch you in the library at the end of the day. Have a blessed day, Spellman.”

 

Sabrina didn’t think there was anything that could pull her down from the happy high she had been riding on all day. She had even concentrated enough in her classes, knowing that she wouldn’t be sitting in for them after this week. Nick had already been waiting for her in a secluded corner by the time she got to the library.

“Sorry I am late.” Sabrina said swinging her satchel off her shoulder and sitting down. “I decided to swing by Ms. Wardwell’s class to thank her but she wasn’t there.”

“It’s okay Spellman, I wasn’t waiting too long.” Nick said as he placed a fat tome before her with a thud. “Before the Academy was closed, these assessment exams took place regularly. They used to happen at the beginning of the year to place the incoming students in classes as per their calibre. It was your father who started the custom. But Blackwood decided to not bring them back.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Sabrina rolled her eyes making Nick smirk.

“I am not sure if he will give you the basic standardised exam or a different one, but it does no harm to go through some of the papers set over the years.” Nick opened the book to a test that had taken place close to twenty-five years prior and Sabrina was surprised to find that the curriculum had not been altered even minutely. They fell into a rhythm as Sabrina solved certain papers and Nick checked them for her. By the time they got done for the day, they were sure she could ace Latin, Ancient Languages, Scriptures and Herbalism, sadly not much in Symbology but Sabrina did not mind since that was the one class that she had no qualms sitting through.

“Tomorrow I am going to teach you some basics of Sacred Geometry, Demonology, Potions and Incantations just in case Father Blackwood decides to test you on those before letting you join those classes.” Nick said as they stepped out of the library in time to catch dinner.

“We can’t tomorrow.” Sabrina said slinging her back over her shoulder.

“You got plans, Spellman?”

“We have the play call back tomorrow, did you forget?” Sabrina giggled when Nick’s eyes widened with the realization that he actually had forgotten.

“That completely slipped my mind. Then I shall see you tomorrow, my lady.”

“You’re not coming to the dining hall for dinner?”

“Agatha and I are supposed to be taking care of dinner for the kids tonight.”

“I didn’t know you could cook.”

“Not as well as Dorcas, but I haven’t killed any of the children yet, so I consider that to be a win.” Nick shrugged making Sabrina laugh. “Goodnight Sabrina.”

“Bye, Nick.” Sabrina said as she stood there watching his retreating figure before heading to the dining hall to eat in solitude.

 

Sabrina was hopeful that with a rabbit’s foot under her pillow she would sleep soundly that night but the screaming started like clockwork at witching hour and she couldn’t help but groan as she burrowed her head under her pillow to ward off the sound. When the screams finally subsided and Sabrina decided to catch some more moment of sleep, she heard the sound of loud sobs coming from the bed next to hers, the one that belonged to a sweet girl named Elspeth.

“Elspeth, are you okay?” Sabrina climbed out of her bed and neared the girl who was curled up into herself and shaking with tears pooling under her. She put a hand on her shoulder and the girl shrank away from her touch.

“She is fine, half-witch.” She heard the voice of Dorcas behind her before she even turned around to see the girl. “She’s just been missing home, aren’t you Elspeth? I’ll get her some calming draught into her and she’ll sleep just fine. Come with me, little girl.” Dorcas took Elspeth by her hand as she climbed out of bed and followed her, albeit reluctantly. “You can go back to bed.” Dorcas spat behind her shoulder before leading Elspeth out and Sabrina sank into her bed, wide awake. She picked up the mirror that she slept with on her bedside table and decided to bother Ambrose instead of going back to bed.

Sabrina snuck into the eerily empty and terrifyingly silent ‘quad’ before sitting down on a staircase. She drew the symbol on the mirror with her finger that Ambrose had taught her to use as a magical unlock code and saw nothing but blackness.

“Ambrose?” She called into the mirror and heard some shuffling before light emerged from the other side.

“Sabrina! Shit, I got blood on it!” Ambrose swore as Sabrina saw him through a smudge of red that was wiped away with a swath of cloth. “Can’t sleep, cous?”

“There’s a lot going on here, it’s a long story, I’ll tell you later. Where are you?” Sabrina looked at the mirror quizzically as she saw her brother put the mirror down propped against something and began to wipe his hands.

“The mortuary. I couldn’t sleep either and a body had come in not too long ago so I decided to get a head start on it.” Sabrina could now see the bright halogen lights behind Ambrose as he sat down. “So tell me dear sister, what took you so long to call on me? I was beginning to think you have forgotten your poor old cousin.”

“Not in the next possible centuries Ambrose. I got busy. So many things have happened already.” Sabrina said as she launched into the details of the play that Ambrose said he had heard a little of from Zelda, the mysterious screams in the middle of the night, even the test she got Blackwood to reluctantly agree on. “Nick is helping me with the test preparations.”

“Hold on, Nick? As in the kid you were paired up with on that dramatics assignment at Baxter? Or is this some other Nick?” Ambrose asked confused.

“Oh Satan, how could I forget to tell you about that! Nick! Yes! The same Nick from Baxter High! He’s a warlock, Ambrose! I was so shocked when I saw him on the first day.” Sabrina’s eyes shone as she began to tell him about Nicholas Scratch the warlock who had put the whole a high school under a spell just to attend the institute. “He is so smart, I am constantly in awe of the things he tells me.”

“He sounds like a real gem. Tell me, cousin, is he good looking?” Ambrose wagged his eyebrows making Sabrina giggle.

“He is, quite handsome.” Sabrina bit her lip and refrained from saying further even though she knew Ambrose was dying to know more.

“You’ve gotten into so much already, and you haven’t been gone even four whole days! I envy you, cousin!”

“Honestly Ambrose, even with the boring classes and the midnight screaming, I love it here. There’s so much to learn and so much to explore about my witch nature here.”

“Those late-night screams make me think some children might be getting harrowed.”

“Harrowed? Isn’t that like bullying?”

“Well, witch bullying can be a little bit more intense than your average high school one. With magic coming into play, things can get nastier.”

“I’m sure Father Blackwood and the teachers won’t let it get so out of hand.”

“Sabrina, they are witches too and some witches tend to believe that its natural selection, it weeds out of the weak amongst their ranks. Promise me sister that you’ll stay safe.” Sabrina could see the concern in his eyes and something akin to hurt, wondering what he had to go through during his academy days.

“I’ll be fine, Ambrose, I promise.” Sabrina reassured him with a smile when she suddenly heard some hushed voices down the corridor. “I have to go, someone’s coming.” Sabrina put the mirror in her pocket and drew back into the shadows just when Prudence and the boy Nick had referred to as Lucas walked through the quad, dressed in their nightgowns, heads drawn together in hushed conversation. As Sabrina slunk back to the dormitory she realized that Aunt Hilda wasn’t wrong in sending her with protection charms and decided to put them in her pockets from tomorrow on.

 

Sabrina entered the Herbalism class earlier than she wanted to be and found the greenhouse devoid of any other person, or it seemed. She sat down in her spot before noticing two figures hunched over in the corner and realized they were Melvin and Elspeth. She had wanted to talk to Elspeth that morning but hadn’t seen her in the dorm or at breakfast so she decided to approach her before the class began.

“Hey, Elspeth.” Sabrina said as she neared the two and realized that Elspeth was crying and Melvin was attempting to calm her down. “Are you okay? Did you get to call home yet?” She sat down on the seat next to her and put a hand on her back, drawing a soothing circle on it.

“She doesn’t want to tell her parents about it. She says they won’t understand.” Melvin said in lieu of Elspeth confusing Sabrina even further.

“She doesn’t think her parents will understand that she misses them?” Sabrina asked quizzically.

“No, she doesn’t want to tell them about the harrowing.” Elspeth squeezed Melvin’s hand and shook her head to stop him from saying anything further.

“Harrowing?”

“The weird sisters have been harrowing her for two nights now.” Melvin told Sabrina not paying attention to the fact that Elspeth was now glaring at him. “They’re using their mind control abilities to make her see horrible things while she is shut off in the witches’ cell.”

“Melvin!” Elspeth admonished him before looking towards Sabrina. “He’s exaggerating it, Sabrina. It’s not that bad. It’s just some good-natured harrowing. My parents say it makes a witch stronger and less susceptible to attacks later on in life.” She tried to smile through her tears but failed.

“Elspeth you need to go to Father Blackwood and tell him everything! You can’t keep on suffering through their abuse like this.”

“It is an age-old Academy practice, Sabrina. Father Blackwood can’t do anything much about it.” Melvin shook his head, knowing well enough that there was no point in making any complaints. He knew that the only reason he had been spared so far was that Nick had taken a sort of liking for him and the Judas Boys did not want to antagonize the future Top Boy. Sabrina looked at the two of them looking so defeated and headed out of the classroom, heedless to the fact that she crossed the teacher just entering the classroom as she marched to the Headmaster’s office and just like the day prior barged in unceremoniously.

“Sabrina, what’s the meaning of this affront!” Zelda who stood next to Blackwood, their conversation having been disturbed by Sabrina barging in, balked at the lack of manners of her ward.

“Sabrina Spellman, what do you need now?” Father Blackwood pinched the top of his nose in annoyance and sat back in his chair. “I have given you what you want. Your test is on the weekend. I am making an exception for you. Why do you still need to charge into my office like you own this place?”

“Father Blackwood, students in your charge are being tortured and abused right under your nose.” Sabrina stood in front of him with her arms crossed across her chest.

“What blasphemous things are you saying, Sabrina? Do you have any idea of the graveness of the charges you’re leveling against the High Priest?” Zelda neared her niece in anger and annoyance.

“Now now, Sister Spellman, let your niece say her piece. Let me hear of all the ways the children are being ‘tortured here’ as she puts it.”

“The Weird Sisters and some of the older students are harrowing some of the pupils to the extent of mentally and physically torturing them.”

“Dear child, harrowing has always been a part of the tradition here at the Academy. Even your aunt has participated in some herself.”

“Spirited child’s play, Faustus. We never tortured anyone.” Sabrina was surprised to see her aunt turn in her stance and support her.

“The Church of Night is only as strong as its weakest member, and a good harrowing forges the weak. Nobody dies of it.”

“What if it were your children being harrowed Faustus.” Father Blackwood fell silent for a few minutes before replying. “Alright. Give me the names. The ones doing the harrowing and the ones who told you these tall tales.

“I can’t tell you the names of the ones who told me these things.”

“I need to corroborate what you’re saying Ms. Spellman, otherwise there’s nothing I can do for you here.”

“Prudence, Dorcas, Agatha and one of the Judas Boys, Lucas I think his name is, they are the instigators.” Father Blackwood stiffened a bit at the mention of the Judas Boys but did not deign to respond to it. “Elspeth is the one being harrowed and Melvin is the one who told me about it.” Sabrina said with a sigh, already feeling sorry towards the two, but knowing that she could not take this matter forward without their support.

“Very well. Quinton!” Father Blackwood called out and the little boy Sabrina had seen doing his biddings here and there walked in.

“You called for me Father.” The lad stood before them, a perfect little boy with his arms behind his back.

“Go fetch me Prudence, Agatha, Dorcas, Elspeth, Melvin… and Lucas.” Father Blackwood sent him off and the boy left without a word returning within moments with the students in tow.

“You asked to see us, Reverend Father.” Prudence innocently asked as Melvin and Elspeth came to stand beside Sabrina who turned to look at them apologetically.

“I did Prudence.” Blackwood stood up and leveled the four of them with a glare. “It has been brought to my notice that you… four have been torturing poor Elspeth here.”

“We did no such thing, Father.” Dorcas spoke up.

“We were only participating in the Academy tradition of harrowing Father.” Agatha answered.

“Harrowing does not mean you mentally torture someone.” Sabrina piped in.

“The half-witch has a moral compass.” Prudence said under her breath and the other two girls sniggered while Lucas who hung back merely rolled his eyes.

“Regardless of your intentions, Sisters, you seemed to have caused hurt to another witch, which shall not be tolerated in the hallowed halls of this institution. I command you to stop subjecting Ms. Craven to any of your spells and pranks from this moment onwards.”

“Yes, Father.” The four of them spoke in unison.

“Well, I guess, that closes the matter here. You may all return to your classes now.” Blackwood sat back down in his seat and the students began to filter out.

“That’s it? You’re not going to punish them?” Sabrina balked at the fact that they were being let go with just a proverbial slap on their wrists.

“They have not broken any of the Academy rules to warrant punishment, Ms. Spellman. I have humored you enough, this matter ends here and I want you to leave my office forthwith.” Blackwood gave her a stern glance before going back to the papers before him. Sabrina rolled her eyes and began to walk out. “And Ms. Spellman, if you burst into my room one more time, I shall hold you in contempt of my office and this institution and you shall be the one receiving a punishment.” Sabrina walked out without saying anything and came face to face with Prudence Night as the doors closed behind her.

“So you’re not just an incompetent witch, you’re a snitch too.” Prudence sneered at her, her arms crossed against her chest, her expression menacing enough to scare Sabrina into not commenting. “Be careful, half-breed, you might be next.” The sisters walked away and Sabrina felt a chill run down her spine.

 

“I heard you got into a scuffle with Prudence.” Nick said as Sabrina sat down beside him in the church, awaiting their turns to audition. “News travels fast here.” He shrugged when she looked at him with a questioning gaze.

“I did.” Sabrina said with a sigh, remembering the train wreck of a scene in the headmaster’s office that she had been a part of.

“I will talk to her.”

“Please don’t. That will just make her hate me more.” Nick laughed but did not say anything further before he was called to read with Dorcas who was abysmally bad at it. Sabrina sat there watching him on stage while Prudence sat in the back watching her. Sabrina was called to the stage to read with Nick and he gave her a cheeky grin as she joined him.

_“Why Lord did you exile me from your kingdom?”_ Sabrina read her lines, trying to stay composed and not laugh in view of Nick giving her his devilish smirk.

_“Lilith, you look to the false god for answers and understanding, but none are coming. You are forsaken in his eyes.”_ Nick looked at her with his expression changing to that of seriousness and composure within seconds.

_“He cast me out, Lucifer, as he did you when I did nothing more than ask for equality.”_ Sabrina fell into the role and the chemistry flowed between them like before, satisfying Zelda enough to seriously consider them. While Sabrina got off the stage Nick stayed to read with another potential Lilith since he was the only contender for Lucifer other than Lucas, who had decided to not turn up for the callback.

“I heard you broke up with your mortal boyfriend.” Prudence said as a way of greeting as she sat down next to Sabrina, surprising her since she was mentally preparing for hexes murmured at her under breath or dead animals in her bed. “I’d say you’re trading up.”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Nick. Besides, I did not break up with my boyfriend.”

“It’s your loss really.” Prudence shrugged. “I’ve drunk from that tall glass…” She gestured towards Nick on the stage who was reading lines with another witch Sabrina did not recognise. “…and its intoxicating as hell.” Sabrina’s eyes bulged at the insinuation of Prudence’s words but could not respond before Nick approached them.

“Hey, Pru… you decided not to audition?” Nick said giving her a slight hug, having not seen her since the day before.

“I decided to concentrate where my talents would be more forthcoming. I am in charge of the costumes. Besides, I’m leaving the playing field open to the newbies.” Prudence gave Sabrina a look and walked away as Nick laughed at what she had said even though only Sabrina understood what she had meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get out of hand when I sit down to write. What I was hoping to make a part of this chapter will probably be pushed ahead to Chapter 11 or 12. Do I digress and stretch things unnecessarily? As always, critique of any kind is welcome and suggestions even more so!


	10. Trials of Sabrina Spellman

Nick wasn’t expecting Sabrina to drag him off to the library the moment they were excused from the auditions.

“Sabrina we hardly have enough time before dinner.” Nick said in a hushed voice as they entered the library, starkly noticing that she had not let go of his wrist.

“We have some time and I have doubts.” Sabrina hurriedly whispered back while she tried to find an empty private spot for the two of them. Finally finding a corner platform and two stools in the alcove behind the Herbalism shelf she let go of him and quickly took her books out.

“You know I’ve been spending most of my free time with you since the Academy started.” Nick bit his lip as he waited for her to grasp his meaning.

“Are you getting bored of me already, Scratch?”

“Not in the slightest. But I could have other things to do, you know.”

“Do you?”

“What?”

“Have ‘other things to do’?”

“No.”

“Then stop whining. You’re wasting precious time!” Sabrina rolled her eyes and opened the book she had borrowed on Demonology 101. Nick shook his head and began explaining the very tricky origins of a demon that Sabrina was having a hard time remembering. She looked at his face, so close to hers as he read the paragraph she had pointed to. While she had been very determined to study finishing these things before their study session the next day, she could hardly concentrate, for the life of her. Prudence’s words were weighing on her mind, no matter how much she tried to shrug them off. The question mark that lingered over the status of her relationship with Harvey had been distressing her for almost a week now. The last conversation she had had with him had left too much unsaid and with the test over that weekend, she couldn’t exactly go back home and know for sure. “How did she know?” Sabrina suddenly realized precisely what had been nagging her in the back of her mind.

“Who? Lilith? She is the mother of all demons, obviously, she knew.” Nick looked up at the confusion on her face and tried to reiterate what he was saying about the origins of the Incubus.

“Not Lilith, Prudence.” It was Nick’s turn to look confused, not understanding a word of what Sabrina was saying.

“What are you saying, Sabrina?”

“Earlier, during the auditions, Prudence asked me about my breakup with Harvey. How did she know?”

“Well, I have not said anything to her, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Nick sat back in his spot, looking at Sabrina in anticipation of any incoming accusations.

“No, Nick I wasn’t saying that!”

“Amongst their special skills, the weird sisters are experts in mind control and mind reading. It wouldn’t have been difficult.” Nick shrugged matter-of-factly.

“Oh my god! Prudence Night can read my mind!” Sabrina’s horrified expression made Nick want to laugh but he decided not to for the sake of his life.

“She can read everybody’s mind, mostly. Here…” Nick put a hand on Sabrina’s cheek, brushing her temple with his fingers before murmuring something in Latin under his breath and to Sabrina’s surprise planting a fleeting ghost of a kiss on her forehead. “…that’ll keep them out of your head.” His palm lingered on her cheek for a moment before he returned to the books in front of them. Sabrina knew that mental protection spells worked best with physical contact, her aunts did it often enough whenever she had nightmares, but she couldn’t help the slight blush that rose on her cheeks and the lingering warmth that she felt on the spot where his lips had grazed her skin. It was safe to say that Sabrina grasped none of what Nick taught her that evening before he left her to eat dinner in solitude once again since ‘I do have some work I need to finish by tonight for Father Blackwood’ as he put it, leading to Sabrina apologizing profusely for taking up his time.

 

Sabrina was looking forward to sleeping in peace in her dorm bed for the first time, confident that there were going to be no more late-night screams to disturb her. It was only after a few minutes of feeling the cold as her body started to shiver she realized she was not in her bed but lying on a cold hard floor. 

“Where am I?” Sabrina asked no one in particular as she sat up, realizing that she was indeed not in the dorm anymore and also that she was groggier than she usually would be after rousing from slumber.

“In the witch’s cell.” Came Prudence’s voice floating in from the only part of the room where the light was emanating from and she saw the backlit silhouettes of the three witches as they stood in the doorway. “You’re taking Elspeth’s place tonight since you cost us our plaything.”

“Let me go, Prudence, I am not something to be toyed with.” Sabrina stood up and shakily charged at them but was thrown back from the force of an invisible shield.

“On the contrary, half-breed, you’re just a pretty little doll. And this is the house of horrors we will leave you in tonight.” Agatha smiled mischievously before her forehead screwed in confusion and surprise. “Her mind is shielded.” Though she said it to her sisters in a hushed tone, in the silence of the night Sabrina heard it clearly and thanked Nick for the protection he had put on her.

“Never mind, even without our meddling this place is capable of frightening the wits off this poor thing.” Prudence said before looking back at Sabrina with a devilish tilt of her head. “You see this is the very cell where the Greendale Thirteen were kept before they were hanged. The truth is, the ones who were hanged were the ones who survived this place, there were many more who perished within these four walls, from hunger, cold and other dark things that go bump in the night which no one in their sane mind would think of exploring. So we shall see in the morning Spellman, how strong you are.” Prudence walked out with her sisters and the door closed behind them with an eerie bang.

Sabrina sat back on the cold floor against the wall covered in ivy and willed her mind to imagine the trunk in Ambrose’s room where she had once unwittingly locked herself when she was eight years old. She looked at the stub of a lit candle they had left for her that would last merely an hour or so and wished she knew how many hours she had before sunrise.

She had been knitting stories in her head like her Aunt Hilda had taught her to do on sleepless nights when she heard the eerie sounds, the part she had been mostly been scared about and noticed that the candle had gone off. She snapped her fingers and a small yellow flame danced on the top of her fingertip – a parlour trick she had learnt from a book she found lying around the house and used to amuse Zelda with when she was little – and saw something sliding into the shadows of the small cell. She drew her legs to herself and prepared herself for whatever it was to approach her but nothing did as she fought against the sleep that was threatening to overtake despite the cold seeping into her bones.

The next time she opened her eyes she almost jumped in fright when she saw a figure hunched over in the shadows mirroring her stance before she even noticed the blanket draped over her body.

“Don’t be scared miss.” She heard the little boy’s voice as she lit up a tiny flame with a finger snap and saw the adorable face of Quentin smiling sweetly at her from the other end of the room.

“Quentin! How did you get in here?” Sabrina asked, frightened for the little boy and worried he was being punished for what she had done.

“There are some secrets about this place you do not know, miss.” Quentin gave her such an innocent smile that Sabrina laughed for the first time that night.

“Come here.” Sabrina said and the boy dutifully followed as he came and sat next to her and Sabrina tucked him in next to her under the blanket at which the little boy looked up at her in surprise. “Thank you for the blanket.”

“It’s almost morning. They will be here anytime now. You can’t let them see that you’re scared.”

“I know.” Sabrina put her cheek onto her knees and looked around the room that she could barely see in but found a lot more bearable with this child next to her. She had many questions she was afraid the little boy did not want to answer. Quentin sat stiffly next to her, making sure no part of him touched Sabrina and stared at this peculiar witch in silence.

Sabrina looked up when she heard the lock on the door click and by the time the three witches made in through the door, the little boy and the blanket the two of them had been wrapped in were gone, making Sabrina wonder if she had imagined the company.

Sabrina did not bother to look up and placed her head back on her drawn knees, knowing that the three of them would spend some time gloating and talking amongst themselves.

“Well, is there anything left of you to make it back to the dorms?” Prudence asked and the other two sniggered in a grating unison. Sabrina sighed before she got up from her spot and stretched her limbs with a bored yawn.

“That wasn’t too bad. You will probably need a little more than a little dark and damp cell to break me. Now if you would excuse me.” Sabrina pushed Prudence and Dorcas aside and walked out of the cell without looking back.

By the time Sabrina got out of the steaming shower she took to scrub off the grime and mud from her feet and legs, there was barely any time to catch the wink of sleep she had her heart set on and she trudged to her first lecture of the day.

 

“Miss Sabrina.” She heard the little boy’s voice call out to her as she exited her last lecture of the day on her way to lunch considering she had missed breakfast. “Master Nicholas has sent a message for you. He says he is otherwise occupied right now and will only be able to see you in the library at post-dinner.” The boy rattled off the message and began to turn around to leave.

“Quentin, wait!” Sabrina called out and the boy halted in his steps. “You did not tell me how you got into the cell.” She asked him in a hushed voice and looked around to check for someone listening only to find that there was no one other than them in that corridor.

“Come, I’ll show you.” Quentin walked ahead and Sabrina could do no more than to follow him. The boy said nothing as he walked her through a maze of empty corridors to a door that suddenly opened into the middle of the forest and when she looked back was not there anymore.

“Quentin, do you come here often, alone?” Sabrina looked around her at the silent woods and the small path that the boy was taking her on.

“This is where I live, miss.”

“These woods aren’t safe.”

“There’s nothing out here that could hurt me anymore.” The little boy said matter-of-factly as he stopped in front of a large piece of rock that on close inspection Sabrina found was a headstone that read – _‘Quentin Corwyn: Harrowed in 1892 in the 11th year of his age.’_ Sabrina looked around and found a dozen such headstone and felt her heart breaking into a million tiny pieces. “There used to be a groundskeeper that buried us, but he died many years ago. Would you like to meet the others?” As Quentin spoke, one by one a gaggle of children appeared standing in front of their headstones, looking at Sabrina and all she could do was let the tears flow down her cheeks.

Sabrina had spent a large enough amount of the day arguing with Quentin and the children about doing something for them in this regard and the children vehemently shot down all of her ideas, worried about her safety in the middle of it all. Swearing that she would do something to avenge them she had returned to the Academy once the sun went down and proceeded to read through all possible logs of the Academy over the years, surprised to find no mention of these children or their deaths. And that was how Nick found Sabrina, asleep in the library drooling atop her books in the middle of the evening. When Sabrina awoke she realized that it was long after dinner time and the library was deserted. She hurriedly got up and began to gather her books only to find a paper bag and a note tucked underneath kept on the top of her bag.

_‘I think you slept through dinner but you looked so tired that I did not want to wake you up. I don’t think you ate anything today. Leaving a snack for when you wake up. I’ll see you here at 10 am tomorrow. – Scratch.’_

She smiled at the gorgeous loopy and cursive handwriting before tucking it safely into her notebook and picking up the bag along with her things. She scarfed down the ham and cheese sandwiches on her way to the dormitory and even though she was hungry beyond measure she was also still dead tired and she fell asleep the moment she lay down in her bed.

It was only a few hours later that she was roughly shaken awake and she groaned when she saw the familiar faces of the three witches.

“Honestly guys, if only to get you to let me sleep, I’m ready to scream and beg.” Sabrina groaned into her pillow as Agatha pulled her up from the neck of her jacket that she still wore.

“Screaming is not going to be of any help, half-breed. The one thing every witch here hates unanimously is a snitch and that makes you the one person they would not stand up for, even your poor little Elspeth.” Prudence sneered at her as Dorcas sat down at the end of her bed and checked out her nails. “So scream all you want. It’ll just be twenty witches harrowing you instead of three.” And though Sabrina doubted that, she looked to see two of the Judas boys standing guard outside the dorm and knew that there would only be more witches being harrowed the next night if they took her side. So as Agatha and Dorcas tied her mouth and hands as they ushered her out of the room, she barely made a move other than following them and also surreptitiously checking her pocket for Ambrose’s mirror that she had taken to lugging around with her at all times. She followed the three witches down long winding corridors similar to the ones Quentin had walked her through and doubted if they were taking her to the forest, thankful for having fallen asleep in her jacket and boots. But her thoughts were crushed when the brick and mortar walls gave way to roughhewn stone and she began to wonder if she was in some abandoned part of the mines.

“We heard from Father Blackwood that you wished to take more challenging classes like conjuring, binding, and banishment. And since you said that a little dark and cold could hardly faze you, we decided to put your skills to a test.” Sabrina could see summoning circle on the floor behind them, lit with some candles and realized with fear that she was going to be in a greater mess than the night before. As Prudence stepped aside, Sabrina saw with horror that it was a containment circle and in the middle of the pentagram stood a grotesque figure snarling at her, behind which was a dead end. “Let’s see if you can get yourself out of this alive.” Prudence and her sisters said stopping as they crossed her on their way out, but when she turned around the witches had vanished and in their place stood a wall of stones. Thankfully along with them had vanished the binds over her wrists and mouth.

“Shit.” Sabrina took a step back till her back hit the rocks, a little happy being atleast half a dozen steps away from the circle. But her happiness was short-lived when she realized that the candle that sat on the points of the star were barely stubs and the moment they went out, the containment spell would not be able to hold the entity anymore. She could not call Quentin or any of the ghost children to help her, she needed a seasoned witch learned in the art of banishment when she remembered her brother and fished out the mirror from her pocket, praying to the devil in hell that he was still awake. “Ambrose? Ambrose! Come on wake up!” She screamed into the mirror till she saw the lights of the room being turned on and the face of a yawning groggy Ambrose fill the mirror.

“Cous it’s almost witching hour. What gossip is keeping you awake so late?” He yawned into the mirror barely able to keep his eyes open.

“Uh, not gossip, a demon.” Sabrina turned the mirror around to let her brother see the monster that was pacing the tiny width of the circle. When Sabrina turned the mirror back to herself her brother was wide awake.

“How in hell did you get yourself trapped with a monster?!”

“Harrowing. Long story. Don’t have the time. The containment spell won’t keep him long, the candles are about to flicker out. How do I banish it?”

“Good news, that’s not a demon, it’s barely a ghoul, they’re not that hard to vanquish.” Ambrose stuttered out as he pulled down some books from the ledge and furiously flipped through them. “Bad news, since it’s a minor ghoul and banishment needs a name and an identity, you can’t banish it, you will need to fight it.” Ambrose looked up at his sister and Sabrina grumbled regretting every decision she had made to antagonise the Weird Sisters.

“How do I fight a ghoul? I barely know how to conjure small flames. I don’t even know any offensive incantations!”

“Let me look for something.” Ambrose feverishly pulled more books out and overturned them as Sabrina eyed the one candle that was on the verge of flickering out.

“Quickly, Ambrose. The flames are about to give out!” Sabrina cried and heard Ambrose swear out in response before she heard a thud and saw the mirror reflecting the ceiling fan above Ambrose’s bed spinning slowly with mocking groans. “Ambrose?” She called out but got no answer. She looked at the winking flames of the candle in front of her and said a prayer just as the flames went out and the monster lashed out of its confines at her. All she saw was a wall of smoke in front of her before she collapsed.

 

“I guess this was a little too much for the little half breed after all.” Dorcas said as they looked upon the figure of Sabrina, curled up in herself, though with a tiny bit of disguised surprise and respect when she saw the dust surrounding her being what remained of the ghoul.

Sabrina cracked an eye open and stretched; the black cat that was curled up against her stomach meowed in protest.

“Thank Satan, it’s a Saturday. I can atleast catch up on some sleep.” Sabrina said with a loud yawn. “This is Salem by the way. He protects me no matter where I am. Clever guy, even better fighter. In goblin form, there isn’t a crack he can’t get through.” The murderous look that the girls gave her somehow made up for the trauma of the night, even if just a small bit. “Bye, girls!” Sabrina said with another loud yawn as she trudged through the cavern, wondering how to make her way back.

 

Sabrina had too many things to do, eat for she was famished, catch up on sleep, and plan an offense against her tormentors for she knew it was not the end of her ordeal, in the middle of all this studying for her test that was the very next day was the last thing on her mind. So when Nick found her asleep once again, this time next to a half-eaten tray of food in the dining hall and gently shook her awake, it took her a moment to understand why he was there.

“It seems like you have been pulling all-nighters for this test. It is not going to be that difficult Sabrina. You need to relax.” Nick said as he sat down in front of her and passed her a napkin, which she realised with horror, was for the drool pooling under her cheek.

“I wish it was because of how much I’m studying. That way I could stop and just catch up on some sleep.” Sabrina rolled her eyes and Nick looked at her anticipation waiting for her to continue. “The Weird Sisters have been harrowing me for two nights now. I’ve barely slept or eaten, let alone have time to study.” Sabrina saw as his eyes darkened and barely had the time to grab his arm before he launched out of his place. “Nick, no.”

“I am not letting them get away this time.” The murderous rage that Sabrina saw in his eyes was a new façade over the perennially calm and smirking demeanour that she was used to, and it stunned her.

“That’s not going to do much. It’ll only stop them for now. You say something to Prudence, she’ll stop harrowing me, and find a new victim tomorrow. We need to end this whole custom of harrowing.”

“At this moment, I don’t quite care about others.” Nick began to get up again and Sabrina pulled him back down with more force.

“I do. I have a plan. And I need your help.”

“Anything you need.” Nick put his hand over hers that was still clasped over his forearm, dangerously close to his soulmark, he couldn’t help but notice.

“Well first, I need you to promise you won’t shoot out of your spot the moment I let go of you so that I can finish my food in peace.” Nick laughed in response and nodded. Sabrina looked at him laugh and rolled her eyes before going back to finish her food, but kept on stealing glances at him from the corner of her eyes, worried that he was going to go after Prudence, only relaxing when Nick picked up a spoon and dug into her custard that she had to fight him off before he could finish it.

 

“Aunties?! Ambrose!” Sabrina shouted as she walked in through the mortuary doors with Nick and Salem in tow, too impatient to go find the inhabitants in their spots.

“Cousin!” Ambrose came barrelling down the staircase and engulfed her in a rib-cracking hug. “You scared the devil out of me last night, little one!” He planted a kiss on the top of her hair before giving her a once over, not once letting go of her arms. It was only when the two ladies came hurrying out of the kitchen did his eyes chance upon the dashing young warlock that stood a couple of step behind Sabrina.

“Sabrina! What are you doing here? You have a test tomorrow morning!” Zelda admonished her as Hilda gave her niece a loving hug.

“Why do you look so tired, my darling?” Hilda asked as she looked upon the bags underneath her eyes.

“I need your help aunties.”

“What kind of help? What have you done now?”

“Children have been harrowed to death at the Academy, aunties, by other students. And now the Weird Sisters are harrowing me.” 

“Are they now?” Zelda’s jaw clenched as she put a loving hand on her niece’s shoulder urging her towards the kitchen, the rest of them following after.

“Ambrose Spellman, Sabrina’s cousin.” Ambrose took the opportunity to introduce himself to the warlock who awkwardly stood there, confused about whether or not to follow them, a doubt the goblin did not have as the feline trotted after his master.

“Nick Scratch, her… friend.” Nick said shaking the hand proffered to him.

“I know, I’ve heard a lot about you from her. Come.” Ambrose gestured towards the doorway where the ladies and the cat had vanished and walked ahead.

“All good things I hope.” Nick smirked as Ambrose laughed knowingly. When the two warlocks entered the kitchen, Sabrina was in the middle of the story of the first night, a mug of tea in hand.

“Thankfully, Nick here had put a protection on me to keep them out of my head. Otherwise, I’m sure the torture they would’ve made me go through would’ve been far worse.” Sabrina nodded towards Nick as he sat down opposite to her and Hilda put a cup of hot cocoa in front of him as a way of thanks.

“This little boy you mentioned who came to help you in the night…” Zelda prompted.

“Quentin. He’s one of the…”

“Quentin came to help you?” Nick asked in surprise. “He is one of the ghosts bound to the Academy because he died on the grounds. He is supposed to serve the master of the place, which is Blackwood at the moment and his family, which by the virtue of living in the house that the Blackwoods own, includes me and the Weird Sisters. I send him out on a few errands now and then but I’ve hardly seen him do much without being asked to.”

“He didn’t just die at the Academy, Nick. He is one of the children who were harrowed to death.” Sabrina’s words made Zelda and Nick recoil at the fate that had befallen the little children they had seen around the Academy and pointedly ignored knowing about.

When Sabrina began reciting the events of the second night and reached the part of her sufferings where she had been left in the abandoned mines with the ghoul, she saw Nick’s eyes darken again with barely concealed fury, a look she would have found mirrored in her brother’s eyes if she had been looking. Though she automatically wanted to grab his hand to stop him from doing something stupid, she stopped herself from doing just that in front of her aunts and shot him a glare that made him stay rooted in his spot.

“I didn’t know how to get out of there and even with Ambrose trying to find me a way out, time was running out fast.”

“However much I wanted to just to get you out of there, even without the house arrest, I had no idea where exactly you were. None of us would be able to reach you.” Ambrose pulled his cousin closer while they sat on the bench next to each other. “The only creature I could think of, who could find you was Salem. In my hurry to get to your room I forgot the mirror and by the time I got back all I could see was you lying on the floor before the mirror stopped working. I did see some glimpses of the fight, and was hopeful that Salem got to you in time.” The cat in question jumped onto Ambrose’s lap and purred with satisfaction at receiving some gratuitous scratches behind his ear.

“I dropped the mirror and it cracked. I’m sorry Ambrose.”

“No need, cous. I can find you another one.”

“I can try to fix it for you if you’d like.” Nick offered and the two cousins smiled at him.

“We need to deal with these impudent girls before they do any more harm.” Zelda stubbed her cigarette and stood up.

“I am sorry, Sabrina.” Nick said with his head hanging low, not wanting to look at anyone from the family.

“What for, dear, it’s not your fault.” Hilda patted his shoulder in a motherly fashion making him feel even guiltier.

“It is. On the first night itself, they came to me, the Judas Boys…” Nick looked up at Sabrina and saw her nodding along. “Luke told me they had plans to harrow some of the weaklings in the new batch. I told him I wanted to have nothing with their plans. If only I had not been so easily dismissive and had seriously told them not to go ahead with it, or atleast kept an eye on them knowing what plans they had, you wouldn’t have gotten into this mess.” Sabrina had wanted to be upset with Nick for having kept this information from her, but the regretful look in his eyes made her realize that it wouldn’t have done much to help her.

“You’re not their keeper, child. It’s not your duty to keep the riff-raff in order, it is Blackwood’s and he has clearly shown that he doesn’t wish to be bothered by it.” Zelda’s scolding had a semblance of truth and tinge of affection, though she would not outrightly accept it. “No good is going to come out of worrying over bygones. We need a plan to strike down these insolent fools.”

“I’m glad you said that aunty since I do have a plan, and there are a couple of children I know awaiting their revenge.” Sabrina said with a grin that could only be defined as devilish.

 

Though just like the nights prior when the sisters came prowling Sabrina was fast asleep, she hardly made a sound when they asked her to follow them, flanked by two of the Judas boys, only one of whom she recognised, unlike before. They revelled in the fact that they seemed to have broken her spirit. They made her walk ahead as they once again walked down the winding empty corridors and suddenly Sabrina found herself before the infamous Hanging Tree, every child in the coven knew of. She was berating herself for going to sleep in her nightgown as the chill of the night seeped through the flimsy silk of her dress.

“What are we doing here, girls?” Sabrina asked irritated as she turned around and found a noose flung over her head. 

“Do you know what it’s like to die by hanging?” Prudence toyed with the other end of the rope that she held in her hands. “Most people think it’s fast, but it’s not. You seemed to think that the fate The Thirteen faced in the witch’s cell was barely anything. Let’s see how you do with the last part of their ordeal.” Prudence said before throwing the end over a low hanging branch.

“Any last words?” Dorcas asked venomously.

“Yes.” Sabrina looked on ahead at them, willing for her face to show what she wanted them to see. “Thirteen witches were executed here at the hands of witch hunters. They couldn’t possibly have known a safe haven like the Academy and even if they could they never would have believed that witches would turn on other witches like this. And I do not understand why you think you have to do this?”

“It’s simple half-breed. Snitches get stitches.” Agatha cocked her head at her and her sisters laughed. “Whatever we did to Elspeth and the others was harmless fun but you went and told on us to Father Blackwood. You’re only getting what you deserve.” It was not about harrowing anymore, Sabrina realized, this was plain old vengeance for having tattled on them.

“Well in that case…” Zelda walked out of the shadows where she had stood waiting and Sabrina raised her head towards her aunt with a smile.

“Aww, you went ahead and called dear old Auntie for backup, how sweet.” Prudence clapped her hands in mock glee. Zelda was tempted to smack the girl all the way to hell but she refrained from subjecting her to such blatant disrespect in front of her peers, so she did nothing to deserve the consideration.

“Prudence, step away.” The girls could hardly restrain their surprise when Nick walked out of the woods too.

“Nicky dear, we asked you to join us, but you said no. It was your loss.” Dorcas dismissed the warlock before looking back towards the Spellmans.

“I did say no, and I should’ve also made sure none of you did any of this either.” 

“Nick, you’re a lovely friend, and I say this with consideration to all the time we have spent together, but back the fuck off, or else we hang you alongside this squealing piglet.” Prudence hissed at him before she saw him begin to chant something underneath his breath, the fury of his gaze, for once, scaring the hell out of her. Luke straightened up from the tree he was leaning on as he leisurely looked at the scene before him and walked to stand between the warlock and the three witches.

“Nick, no.” Sabrina said looking at the boy who stood next to her.

“Sabrina…”

“Nick, I said no.” Sabrina said more firmly before Nick backed down and stood a few steps behind her. The weird sisters passed a comment between themselves about Nick becoming too docile in her company when Sabrina addressed them. “You know Prudence, you are right about harrowing being an age-old tradition. It has been going on for as long as anyone can remember.”

“I’m glad you’re seeing sense in the last moments of your life.”

“Oh, I was shown sense long ago, by a group of people who had lost the most to this tradition. You see long before my father had tried to put a ban on this when he was headmaster there was a group of children who lost their lives to the likes of you. So from this day forward, harrowing of any kind will not be tolerated at the Academy.” Prudence and her sisters felt a jerk in their necks as invisible ropes pulled them up and an unnerving chant filled the night – ‘light as a feather, stiff as a board.’ – getting louder and louder as the noose around their necks got tighter and tighter till they could hardly breathe. “Understood?” Sabrina asked challengingly but the girls made no sound other than gasps for air and the invisible ropes pulled them further up in the air till the girls finally meekly nodded, clawing at the invisible rope to get some leeway of breath.

Sabrina turned around to look at the children standing behind them forming a chain and began to walk away with Zelda and Nick close behind her. She ruffled Quentin’s hair as she crossed him and as he looked up at her with a smile and a cheeky wink, the three witches fell.

“I could sleep for another three days.” Sabrina said rubbing her bare arms as they walked out of the forest. Nick shrugged his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders while Zelda pulled her closer to herself. “If only I didn’t have a test in a few hours.” Sabrina felt goosebumps raise in her arms as the heat from the leather seeped into her ice-cold skin.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I will make Blackwood push it forward. It’s his fault in giving these girls such unfettered freedom. Let him try and claim otherwise.” Zelda waived her niece’s worries off.

“I wish I could see his face when he tries to fight with you on this.” Sabrina said with a yawn.

“Me too. Take a picture for us?" Nick chimed in making the two ladies laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to keep things fresh as well as stick to some of the things I liked in the show. It's such a weird mix, I know. Coming up next in the next few chapters is lesser Nabrina (I'm sorry!) and a bit more of some of the other ships, especially, hopefully, some Madame Spellman.


	11. Chapter 11

Baxter High had felt a strange shift in dynamics that could not all be attributed to the loss of a certain blonde, but there was nothing that anybody could exactly pinpoint.

“Roz, Harvey, can I have a moment with you?” Ms. Abernathy stopped the two students as the others began to chattily file out of the classroom. Theo stayed back so that he could walk Roz to her next class later, and Varun somehow found himself hanging around too. “So I seemed to have had a lapse of judgment somehow and missed a really important pairing from a Shakespeare classic when I distributed the assignment. Now I know that we are already two weeks in and that would put you at a disadvantage but would you be willing to trade Hero and Claudio with Beatrice and Benedick? They’re from the same play and have a larger scope of creativity and expression.” The teacher held her breath and waited for students to take in her request.

“That’s not a problem Ms. Abernathy.” Harvey slowly said while looking at Roz instead of the teacher and saw her nod along. “We can do Beatrice and Benedick instead.”

“Oh, could I get Beatrice?” Roz piped in making the teacher laugh remembering the fact that the raven-haired girl before her had drawn Claudio.

“Sure, Roz.” Ms. Abernathy said with a smile in her voice and bent down to write something in her notebook before noticing that Sabrina’s name was written with Beatrice while Benedick had an empty spot next to it. She looked up at the two kids to ask something but changed her mind and dismissed them.

“Didn’t Sabrina have Beatrice?” Theo asked as the four of them walked out of the class, Harvey looking strangely at Varun who was walking next to Theo.

“Yeah, she did, didn’t she.” Roz agreed in confusion.

“She was told to find herself a Benedick or choose to work along with another pair before she announced that she was leaving school.” Varun chimed in. “Maybe she told Ms. Abernathy she was picking some other characters before she made up her mind to leave.”

“What are you doing here Varun?” Harvey asked with a roll of his eyes wondering how this person had so quickly inserted himself within the group, preparing to replace Sabrina. He had not said much when most of the previous week he randomly sat with them for lunch but his patience was wearing thin with his constant presence.

“Uh, I have the same class as Roz so I thought I’d walk her.” Varun said hesitantly and Theo beamed at his thoughtfulness.

“We can do that, thank you very much.” Harvey felt irritation building inside him, bubbling up like it would burst out of him at any moment.

“Don’t be mean Harvey. You have to get to Chemistry and Theo has Biology, both of you are on a different floor altogether. Varun is just being nice by offering to walk with me.” Roz said before offering her arm to Varun who crossed over from Theo’s side and took it. Harvey looked at the two walk away as Theo patted his arm and climbed the stairs up to the next floor and couldn’t help but feel that Sabrina had taken away the bond that held them together.

 

Though Blackwood had, after plenty of hemming and hawing, given Sabrina till Thursday to finish studying and recover from her ordeal, Sabrina had spent all of Sunday and half of Monday snoozing in her bed back home, finally only getting out because she could not afford to miss out on her Symbology class.

When she entered the kitchen to grab something to eat before she left for the Academy, she found her aunts in two corners of the kitchen staring at each other with identical looks of annoyance.

“Good… morning?” Sabrina hesitantly said and looked around for her cousin to help her make sense of the situation but he was nowhere to be found. “Where’s Ambrose?”

“He’s downstairs in the mortuary. Actually doing what he is supposed to do, unlike your Aunt Hilda here.” Zelda said as she lit her cigarette and picked up the Chinese newspaper she had just conjured.

“I am not shirking away from my duties Zelds!” Hilda countered as she saw Sabrina pull out the jug of orange juice from the fridge and decided to quickly whip something up for her.

“Then pray tell me what fun will come out of you working for a mortal joke shop?” Zelda snapped the newspaper and levelled her sister with an unwavering stare.

“Mortal joke shop?” Sabrina asked in confusion looking between her aunties.

“Cerberus Bookstore is not a joke shop, Zelda. It’s a…” Hilda began to explain but was at a loss for words.

“Dr. Cee’s? It’s a restaurant-cum-bookstore, Auntie Zelda. It’s a really good place.”

“A good place where they dress up as the blasphemous fabrications of our customs and rituals all year round.” Zelda scoffed.

“That’s just how mortals treat the horror genre, Auntie Zee. It’s not Dr. Cee’s fault. But what is this all about?” Sabrina mouthed thanks to her aunt as Hilda put a plate of toast and scrambled eggs before her.

“Your Aunt Hilda here applied to work there.”

“I was getting bored at home and its only part-time. Zee spends her day at the Academy, Ambrose handles the mortuary fairly well on his own since there are barely any deaths in this boring quaint town, so I thought I’ll get myself something useful to do.”

“I could have talked to Father Blackwood and got you put up somewhere you would’ve been useful.”

“You and I both know that if there was a place for me at the Academy, Father Blackwood would have asked me to join before the Academy began. He does not think me fit for a position of any sort of power. And I like cooking for children.”

“Fine, do what you like, even if it is to dress like a freak, and see if I care.” Zelda stubbed her cigarette and walked out of the room.

“I for one think it is a great idea, Auntie Hilda.” Sabrina smiled up at her aunt and Hilda let out a squeal before hugging her little girl.

 

Sabrina had been sitting in the library going through all that Nick had taught her the previous week, her thoughts constantly lingering to the warlock in question and wondering what went on at home after the debacle of Sunday night when he would have had to face Blackwood and the Weird Sisters, when the said warlock walked in, looking for her.

“I knew I could find you here. You’re becoming quite predictable Spellman.” Nick chuckled as he put his satchel away and sat down next to her. Sabrina looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh when she noticed the jacket he wore.

“Making a statement today, are we?” Sabrina said mischievously and pointed to the varsity jacket he was clad in.

“Just trying to show people where my loyalty lies.”

“With Baxter High?”

“With you.” Nick said with a smirk on his face before pulling a leather-bound notebook from his bag.

“You don’t have to do that, Nick.” Sabrina gave him a look of sympathy. “How did it go facing the girls at home?”

“I haven’t been home since Sunday.”

“What? Why? Where have you been staying?”

“In the dorms. I just did not want to get into a fight with Prudence in front of the kids and I knew I will snap if I saw her. So I’ve been avoiding going back home.”

“Nick…”

“It’s okay Sabrina. I’ll go back sooner or later. And the dormitory is not so bad.” Nick said and Sabrina decided to drop the topic.

“You know it’s funny when you say ‘kids’, makes it sound like you and Prudence are married with a bunch of children.” Sabrina giggled at the face Nick made at that comment.

“Honestly, sometimes it does feel like that. Or atleast it did when we dated. Charlie was really fond of the idea of us together. He is probably the one who took it the worst.”

“You dated the sisters?” Sabrina said with barely concealed aversion and Nick scrunched up his nose in a way that she couldn’t help but find endearing.

“As much as the three of them seem joined at the hip at all times, they do have a little bit of individuality, so no, I did not date the sisters, only Prudence. I mean emotionally, sex was a different thing.” It was now Sabrina’s turn to scrunch up her nose making Nick have a smirk dancing on his lips.

“So who got Charlie in this divorce?” Sabrina asked, trying to stray the conversation and her thoughts away from the idea of Nick having sex with the three sisters.

“Me. Fortunately, the kid likes me a tad bit more. I probably would have gone back to Prudence if Charlie chose her, in all honesty.”

“You love that kid so much?”

“I don’t know about love, but I can’t really bear to see him cross with me. You should meet him, you’ll understand.”

“Someday, maybe, once you’ve gone back.”

“Yeah, someday I guess.” Sabrina gave him a reassuring smile as he put his head back into the book he had been reading. She looked at him trying so hard to concentrate and wondered if he was thinking about the little boy he was obviously so attached to. Her heart broke a little over the fact that it was her fault Nick hadn’t gone back to the place he called home for two days now and thought about what she could do to rectify it.

 

“So, do you have anything to do after school today?” Varun whispered to Theo as he sat down next to him at the lunch table, surprising everyone enough to stop whatever they were doing, leaving the boy in question with goosebumps down his arms. Roz had been in the middle of talking about this book she had asked her mother to read to her over the weekend which had inadvertently led to some awkward moments over the less than subtle sexual innuendoes in it and how she is going to go back to listening to audiobooks instead.

“I uh… nothing. I was just going to go home.” Theo stammered out, going red though he tried his mightiest for it to not show.

“Well, we don’t have practice today and I was thinking we could start rehearsing for the dramatics assignment.”

“Yeah… uh… fine. Where do we practice?”

“We can go to Cee’s?” Varun suggested nonchalantly and Theo grabbed for Roz’s hand under the table in excitement.

“Sure.”

“Great. I’ll see you in the parking lot after school then?” Varun asked, as he got up to leave, but hesitated for a minute before picking up a fry from Theo’s plate and leaving with a wink. “Sup, Kinkle?” He greeted the other in passing as Harvey came to occupy the spot he had just vacated.

“What was he doing here?” Harvey asked but Theo was busy whispering something to Roz who was trying to suppress her giggle under her hand. “Theo? Roz?”

“Huh?” Theo turned around to look at Harvey who had somehow manifested next to him while he wasn’t paying attention.

“What was Patel doing here?” Harvey rolled his eyes at his friends’ antics.

“He wants to go to Cee’s after school to run lines to Ms. Abernathy’s assignment.” Theo answered.

“Oh, that’s great. Roz and I will come along. We can do our own practice.”

“Uh, no.” Both Roz and Theo said after each other.

“What? Why?”

“We have different plays, Harvey. We’ll end up speaking over each other get nothing done.” Roz tried to reason.

“We haven’t even picked out our scene Roz. We can do that instead and hang out together at the same time.” Harvey felt the same old irritation build up again and wondered why it   
always happened around a certain football player.

“Let’s not bother them Harvey. Try and understand.” Roz put a hand out trying to grab at Harvey’s but she couldn’t because Harvey had just gotten up and left. “Harvey?”

“He… he left.” Theo said in confusion as he looked at his friend’s retreating back.

 

With Nick staying in the dormitory, he and Sabrina spent even more time together than usual and it was only when she had to hold onto her stomach from laughing too hard at Nick’s jokes did Sabrina realize that breakfast was usually a very dull and lonely affair. Her laughter came to halt as she saw two figures looming over Nick’s shoulder and he patted him on his arm to point at the people behind him.

“Nicholas?” Dorcas said hesitantly as she and Agatha stood close to where Sabrina and Nick sat.

“What do you girls want?” Nick said rolling his eyes as he turned around to look at them.

“We came to say sorry to you. We didn’t want to hurt you like that.” Dorcas pleaded while Agatha stood next to her tightlipped.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, it’s Sabrina. She was the one you were harrowing.” Nick crossed his arms against his chest defensively and the two girls shared a look between themselves.

“It’s okay Nick. They were just getting back at me for snitching on them and they learnt their lesson with harrowing. As long as no one gets harrowed again, I am fine.” Sabrina touched his hand and he relaxed a little. “Where’s Prudence by the way?”

“Charlie was not feeling too well today. And she did not want to see Nick so angry at her.” Agatha tried to poke a reaction out of Nick and was satisfied when she saw him draw a deep breath. Sabrina knew what the mention of the boy could do to him and the turmoil the information must have raised in his head as she saw the change in his demeanour and realized that he wanted to leave and go check on the boy he treated as a younger brother.

“Nick, go.” Sabrina blinked at him with an assuring glance and he got up from his spot. “I can handle studying on my own.”

“I’ll see you later Spellman.” Nick gave her a soft smile and with a last glance at the two sisters rushed out of there.

“Not too bad Spellman. You do have Nick wrapped around your fingers already. Impressive, really.” Agatha said to her making her roll her eyes.

“She does have some good enough skills since she lived to tell the tales. It will be fun playing this game with you.” Dorcas chimed in and before Sabrina could turn around and reply to that comment, the two girls had vanished.

 

When Nick, walked into the house, for a moment it felt like he had been gone too long, instead of a mere 48 hour period, but then he heard a string giggles emerge from the living room and it was like he was never gone. He moved towards to stairs to head to the boy’s room when a figure bounded out of the hall and jumped on to him, grabbing him by his waist.

“Nicky!” The little boy that hung off his body said to him with a toothy grin. Nick looked down to see Charlie smiling back at him and bent to pick the little almost five-year-old. “You’re back!” Charlie wrapped his arms around the older boy’s neck and giggled when he felt the vibrations of Nick’s laugh at his throat.

“Yes, I am back.”

“I made a summoning circle from that book you gave me!” Charlie was deeply describing it to Nick but his eyes were fixed on the girl who had just walked into the hall.

“Charlie, why don’t you go get the drawing you made and show it to Nick?” Prudence suggested to the child and he bounded out of his arms and up the stairs.

“I see Charlie is completely fine.” Nick laughed at his own stupidity of having fallen for the girls’ tricks once again and decided to just head back to the Academy.

“Nick, I am sorry.” Prudence said stopping him in his tracks to the door.

“What for Prudence? Lying about Charlie’s health, threatening to kill me or for torturing Sabrina the way you did? You’ve done too much to warrant a kiss and make up, not this time Pru.” Nick shook his head at her, trying to pay no heed to her beseeching glances.

“I… uh… Father Blackwood asked us to do it.” Prudence said as hushed as she could worrying someone would hear her in this house full of children who considered him their father figure. Nick looked at the fear on her face and took her by her arm dragging her to the one place where he knew no one could overhear them – his room. Once they were safely inside, he placed a few protection spells just to be sure and looked pointedly at Prudence to continue what she was saying.

“Father Blackwood asked you to torment Sabrina?” Nick crossed his arms and said when Prudence did not continue.

“He asked us to help the Judas Boys in harrowing some of the new kids to weed out the weaker from their ranks so that he could concentrate only on the stronger ones. When Sabrina created a ruckus out of what we did to Elspeth, he wanted us to scare her a little for putting her nose where it did not belong.” Prudence was wringing her hands as she looked at him imploring him to understand with her eyes.

“What you did was far more than just ‘scaring her’. You almost killed her, on not one but two occasions. That goes beyond what you’re telling me Blackwood asked you to do.”

“I accept that. I was acting out, not just because she tattled on us but because she was keeping you away from us and hogging your time. I was angry.”

“Pru, you’re my best friend, you were the first friend I made when I moved here. We have a history together that nothing can erase but if even after this, just the mere fact that I am spending time with another person can make you can feel insecure, then nothing I say or do will make you think otherwise.”

“I am sorry, Nick, I really am.”

“This time there’s too much you have to be sorry for Prudence, and not just to me.” There was a knock at the door that made him stop mid-sentence, followed by a small voice calling his name. “I forgive you, but next time don’t use Charlie as an excuse to get me to talk to you.”

“Sabrina asked me to do it.” Nick was taken aback by her words but decided not to ponder on his thoughts when another string of knocks came through. “Nicky, are we okay?” Prudence asked as he moved to open the door.

“This time, Pru. But you should say sorry to Sabrina too.”

“I already did.” He heard her whisper behind him as he opened the door and the little ball of energy jumped at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long ass A/N:  
> I know this chapter is short and pretty bad. I spent too long just staring at it and willing it to be better. I did not want to post it. But I knew if I didn't, I'll end up going on another 3 month-long hiatus before I could create anything half decent and you guys, especially the ones who religiously leave comments on each chapter for me, don't deserve that. I am sorry this part is this bad. I promise the next ones are more fun and less filler-ish and will be longer and better. Please just overlook the overall cringeworthiness this once. Also, I know I am pretty bad at balancing the characters considering the Baxter Squad hardly made an appearance for a whole ten-day worth of storyline and now there's a lot of them here. I'm trying to balance the two worlds out, can't do as well as Sabrina did but I'm trying. Any suggestions on how to do that are very much welcome and more than that desperately needed. Thank you for sticking with me till now.


	12. Chapter 12

As Theo walked Roz to her first class of the day on Tuesday morning she could feel that her friend’s spirit was quite low as the boy walking next to her barely spoke.

“How was your practice with Varun yesterday?” Roz asked in hopes of striking a conversation.

“It was fine.” Theo said with a sigh and did not add anything more.

“What happened, Theo? I thought you’d be happier after having spent some alone time with Varun.”

“It was good, really. But I keep on wondering if he’s only being friendly or if he really does want to spend time with me.”

“Theo, you’ll only find that out with time. You can’t guess something like that from spending time with him once.”

“I get that Roz but I really like him and I’m scared that I’m only setting myself up for disappointment. I don’t even know where his inclinations lie.” Theo had stopped outside of Roz’s classroom and saw Varun coming down the corridor behind Roz, feeling his pulse quicken.

“Aww does the confused little girl have a crush?” He heard a taunting voice behind him back and closed his eyes to reign in his temper before he turned around to look at the laughing smug face of Billy Marlin.

“What do you want Billy?” Theo rolled his eyes and tried to stare down the boy a head taller than him.

“Nothing really. It’s good that you like some boy. Maybe a getting a dick inside of you will help you understand your confusion about whether you’re a girl or a boy, Susie Putnam.” Billy said and his goonies standing around him laughed out.

“Fuck off, Billy.” Roz said from behind Theo as she grabbed in the dark to catch ahold of Theo’s arm.

“In all honesty Walker, what could you do if I don’t?” Billy stepped forward looming over the shorter boy as Theo desperately tried to not cry in anger.

“Maybe she can’t, but I can very well do something, Marlin.” Theo turned around when he saw Billy look over his shoulder and found Varun standing behind him.

“Really Patel, and what will you do?” Billy looked over at the boy who was standing next to the smaller boy and Theo worried that it was going to lead to a fight that none of them could afford to get into when the crowd that had gathered around them parted and Principal Hawthorne emerged from the crowd, and Theo realized he had never been as happy as he was now at seeing the face of that misogynistic jerk.

“What’s happening here, boys? Did you not hear the bell go off… five minutes ago?” Hawthorne looked at his watch and the crowd immediately dispersed. Another student helped Roz into the classroom while Billy and his group went away with one last menacing glance at Theo. Varun patted Theo on his shoulder indicating that they should get going too, but Theo had had enough and he ran in the other direction.

 

“Where’s Theo?” Harvey asked as he sat down next to a surprisingly alone Roz at their usual table, sans Theo and the new tag-along that he would rather not ask about.

“I haven’t seen him since this morning. Billy Marlin was picking on him and it almost became a fight but Hawthorne came just in time. Theo didn’t come to pick me from my class afterward and he didn’t come for lunch either.” Roz said with a sigh. Her food was left untouched before her and she hated the helplessness with which she had to just sit there, not knowing where to look for her friends.

“Should I go and find him?”

“Would you please? I am really worried about him.” Roz felt a relief wash over her as Harvey took her hand and she imagined the smile the brunet boy used to get around his friends on his face, wishing for the umpteenth time that she could see it just once more.

 

“You know I could teach you, I am sure you could have a better aim with just a little bit more practice.” Varun said as Theo’s ball missed the basket one more time. He had been watching the smaller boy go at it for a few minutes now and knew that his anger was not going to disappear with a few baskets.

“I am not really playing.” Theo said with a sigh and sat down on the wooden floor and Varun caught hold of the ball as it rolled towards him. He dribbled the ball once before sitting down next to Theo and stretching his legs in front of him.

“Why are you skipping lunch?”

“You really have to ask that question?”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” Theo said as he pulled his legs up closer to his chest and placed his chin on his knees.

“Then how about this?” Varun said as he produced a stapled bunch of papers from inside his jacket that Theo recognised as the scene they had printed out from the library to practice.

“You want to practice our lines now?”

“Well, it’s as good as anything. Atleast it is better than sitting here and brooding.” Varun shrugged as he read through the pages to find the part where they had left the day before. _“I pray you tarry, pause a day or two before you hazard, for in choosing wrong I lose your company, therefore forebear a while.”_ Varun read as Portia, taking on a nasal voice that made Theo laugh.

“You make a really awkward Portia.” Theo guffawed and fell backward.

“No, I don’t.” Varun gave Theo a mock glare and the boy laughed even louder.

“You should be Antonio, that would suit you a lot. And Bassanio and Antonio are the real soulmates of this story. Portia is just someone Bassanio fell for.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s ready to lay down his life, a few days after he married the woman he claims to love, for “his friend”. It’s obvious that if Shakespeare was writing in the 21st century, we would not have a Portia-Bassanio angle altogether.”

“I think Antonia and Bassanio might be soulmates, but that doesn’t mean Bassanio was in love with him or that he was just infatuated with Portia. Portia was equally a love of Bassanio’s life and the story wouldn’t be what it is without her.”

“You’re just saying because you’d have liked to do that horrible nasally version Portia that you have created.” Theo said as he sat up looking at the shock on Varun’s face. Varun launched himself at the smaller boy and they both fell backward with a thud.

“Oh really. I’m the one with bad acting.” Varun said grabbing Theo in a headlock as he rolled them around so that his weight wasn’t on the smaller of the two.

“Varun!” Theo groaned as the other boy began to knuckle him in the head.

“Nuh, you take that back first.”

“I was just stating a fact.”

“Oh, you’re so not getting away with this now!” Varun had rolled them around on the floor and regardless of the position they were in, Theo could not help but let out a throaty chuckle.

“Theo!” The shout rang out in the empty gymnasium as the two boys looked towards the doors to see Harvey standing there with a confused look on his face.

“Hey, Harvey.” Varun said he loosened his grip on Theo and the two of them sat up. Varun pulled himself up and extended a hand to Theo who was still on the ground.

“What was happening here?” Harvey said as he bypassed Varun’s extended hand and pulled Theo off the ground.

“Nothing, we were just fooling around.” Varun said with a shrug.

“That didn’t look like nothing to me.” Harvey gave the footballer a doubtful look before looking back at his friend. “Was he picking on you like Billy today morning?”

“Harvey, why would you say that?” Theo asked surprised looking at his friend’s face as Varun’s face fell with hurt etched on it. “Varun stood up for me!”

“Oh really, he stood up for you against his own teammates.” Harvey felt the anger rise up in him. He had been trying so hard to push it down for the past whole week but it kept on rearing its ugly head and Harvey could feel it building stronger over time.

“Relax Kinkle. If my teammates act like douches, I am going to stand up against them, especially for a friend.” Varun put a hand on his shoulder but Harvey shrugged it off.

“Oh, so now we are all friends. Already? It takes one week of Sabrina being gone and you’re already trying to insert yourself into our splintered group, taking her place, walking Roz to class, standing up for Theo, trying to buddy up with me.” Harvey spat out, already seeing red, the voice in his head urging him to hit something. He had been wronged, he did not know by whom or how, but he was angry at them, and this anger was not going to stay back any longer.

“Harvey what are you saying? No one is taking anyone’s place here!” Theo pulled at Harvey’s arm to make the furious boy look at him.

“Let it be Theo, if Harvey doesn’t like me hanging out with you and your friends, then I’d rather not. I’ll see you later in class.” Varun said defeated and grabbed his books off the floor before beginning to head out.

“No, wait.” Theo stopped him with a hand on his forearm and he looked back at the boy he had begun to feel a certain affinity towards. “I get to choose who I spend time with, Roz gets to choose it, not Harvey.” Theo looked up at his friend glaring daggers at them. “And right now, I don’t want to spend another moment here with him.” As Theo took his hand and pulled him along, Varun glanced back at Harvey’s face that had contorted with uninhibited fury and hoped it did not lead to something self-destructive. It didn’t, but it was hell-bent on destroying something.

“Varun!” They heard Harvey shout when they were a few steps down the corridor and saw Harvey standing at the door of the auditorium. As Varun took a step forward to try and calm the boy he had so far only known as an emotional artistic person, he felt a hard knuckle connect with his nose with a sickening crunch and heard Theo shout his name from behind.

“Kinkle?” Varun said with disbelief as his hand went up to his nose and came back red and the blood poured down his face before another punch collided with the side of his face and everything went black.

 

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Sabrina was so absolutely done with studying that she would have sworn off her books even if Nick had not declared her fully prepared. But the catch was that there was nothing else to do other than studying, so halfway into the day, Sabrina was going crazy with the idleness. She had taken to exploring the pentagonal halls of the Academy and within twenty minutes found herself lost in one of the 666+ rooms that place boasted about. Due to the fact that the Academy was made to be inconspicuous it was built mostly inside and under the Gehenna station but with its multiple magical exits into the forests there was no dearth of fresh air haunts for the students, which was why Sabrina was surprised to find a room built to look similar to an underground cave complete with a massive pond in the middle of it. Sabrina wasn’t even sure if she was on the ground level anymore or had descended to someplace below the Academy. She took off her shoes, rolled up her pants and dangled her legs into the water that was surprisingly cool sitting on the edge of it, the tiredness of the week before just seeping out of her.

She closed her eyes and laid back looking at the looming ceiling of the cavern, staring at the lights emerging from alcoves built so high into the walls that there was no other way to light lamps in them than by magic. The water reflected these lights casting a red and yellow glow around the room that would have looked eerie if it wasn’t so gorgeous. For a while she lay there, unconcerned about being lost but it was only when her stomach began growl she realized she missed lunch and needed to do something about it. She had been there long enough to know there was a low chance someone else was going to come wandering in or looking for her.

Sabrina pulled a page out of the notebook she had in her satchel and began to scribble a note on it that somehow turned into a short letter. She smiled at how long it was before folding and writing a name on it as she lit it on fire and murmured under her breath, _“Nuntius in igni, attigo vester meta,”_ just like she had learnt when she was a child. As the flame consumed the paper, she lay back once more and closed her eyes, with her arms folded under her head, legs still dangling in the water.

What seemed like a few moments later, she heard the faint pop of teleportation amplified in an echo by the walls of the cave.

“You know for a person who is lost and alone, you look quite peaceful.” Nick said with a chuckle as he sat down next to her on the ground, his legs folded underneath him, leaning back on his arms. Sabrina smiled but did not open her eyes.

“You should have guessed from the length and content of my message that I was not in much of a hurry to get out of here.”

 _“I found a really nice place in the middle of the Academy. It’s a cave with a pond! In the Academy! But I am lost and I don’t know how to get out of here, not that I mind. It’s quite beautiful. Would you be able to find me, if you tried? I hope I can get back before the test tomorrow though. It would be a disappointment if miss my assessment because I was lost within the Academy. Find me maybe? – Sabrina. P.S. I hungry, get me a sandwich please.”_ Nick read the note out loud before shaking his head and putting it back in his pocket.

“And did you? Get me a sandwich?” Sabrina asked, ignoring the tonal inflections Nick had attempted to mimic but gone so horribly high-pitched on. Nick pulled two wrapped sandwiches out of his bag and placed them on top of Sabrina’s stomach and she glared at him in amusement before picking them and sitting up. “How did you get here?”

“I have been here once, wandered through the Academy. And when there’s someone you’re trying to reach its easy to anchor your spell to them when you teleport, for more accuracy.” Nick reached forward to pick one of the sandwiches but Sabrina swatted his hand away. He shook his head and pulled another one out of his bag and began to unwrap it.

“This is so good.” Sabrina moaned as she took a bite of her snack and closed her eyes to savour it making Nick chuckled.

“Thanks.” He said taking a bite of his own.

“You made these?” Sabrina asked in surprise.

“I was already making sandwiches for Charlie and Tabitha when your message arrived. Oh, I forgot, they really liked your trick of sending a fire message, they were so mesmerized when the letter materialized in a burst of flames.”

“It’s so cute when children get excited at things you have taken for granted all your life, like simple fire spells.”

“I know. They’re probably going to think you’re the best witch in the world if you do your fire on your fingertips trick before them. Five-year-olds are too gullible.”

“You know, this is cute too.”

“What?”

“Seeing this domestic, kid-loving side of you.” Sabrina said with a chuckle and Nick rolled his eyes with a groan.

“Okay, enough of teasing me. Time to get out of here.” Nick jumped up and brushed the back of his pants before offering a hand to Sabrina.

“How are we going to get out?”

“We could teleport.”

“That’s so boring. If I had to do that, I wouldn’t have called you. Isn’t there another way out?”

“We could just walk out and see where that takes us, you wretched mortal.” Nick tried to bump his shoulder into hers but she ducked away giggling.

“Or, we could enjoy this place a little more.” Sabrina took her jacket and her bag off and jumped into the pond before Nick could say anything. She emerged above the water, grinning and soaked through the flimsy red shirt she wore. He averted his eyes before she could notice and looked away. “Come on Scratch.” She beckoned before kicking off and lying down afloat.

“You sure?” Nick asked as he pulled off his boots hesitantly.

“I would come out there to pull you in, but I am having a little too much fun here. Just get in here already.” Nick let out a chuckle and shrugged out of his jacket, decidedly leaving his tee-shirt and pants on before he jumped in, splashing Sabrina with a large wave. She surfaced spluttering out of balance and looked at Nick in absolute astonishment. Nick laughed and held out a hand to steady her which to his joy she took. The pond looked deceptively shallow from the outside but was close to six feet deep in real.

“You look really happy today, Spellman.” Nick said as she swam circles around him and he rolled his eyes but smiled all the same.

“I am. I am all done with studying, my test is tomorrow, and no one is bothering me. It has been a good day. I am happy.” Sabrina said as she attempted to stand up in a shallow end but her foot slipped on some algae-covered rocks and Nick reached forward to grab her. She clung on to his arm as she wiped her face and steadied herself and saw that Nick was, for the first time she had ever seen, in a tee-shirt which had shorter than three-fourth sleeves unlike most of the henleys he wore. But there was a band of black fabric covering his elbow that seemed to have been cut from the sleeve of another tee-shirt. She grazed the edge of the fabric and was surprised when Nick flinched and pulled his arm away.

“That’s my soulmark.” Nick said matter of factly as he put his arm down by his side and offered Sabrina his other arm.

“Can I see it?” Sabrina bit her lip in anticipation and also shyness at her own audacity. You could go on for decades and the only people who ever saw your mark could be counted on your fingertips. Sharing marks hardly ever happened before having shared a bed unless they were a part of your close family and Sabrina almost turned away knowing she had asked for a little too much but Nick’s hand on her arm stopped her. He looked in her eyes and knew that she was merely curious. He surprisingly felt a tumbling feeling of disappointment in the pit of his stomach at that and wondered why that really was. He nodded and slowly pulled the band down to his wrist, tilting his arm in a way that she could see the stark white lines covering the whole of his elbow in a loose spiral. Sabrina’s hand reached forward but stayed mid-air as she stared at it and for a minute she pondered about who the person would be to have the privilege of his heart, feeling a fleeting stab of jealousy in her own making her wonder how could a person she had met a mere fortnight ago mean so much more than enough to her.

When she looked away Nick wondered if he should just ask her to touch it, like he had wanted to do for so many weeks when they were both at Baxter High but looking at the dripping wet blonde girl he realized that he felt something for her, something that he wanted to have regardless of the mark. He did not want to add to his feelings a sense of finality that was associated with the act of knowing and decided that he wanted to stay in the dark for a little longer before pulling the band back up over the crook of his arm.  
Sabrina looked around the cave, at the alcoves above them, at the high ceiling, at the water, at anything but Nick, feeling the awkwardness of the moment standing between them like a person of its own. She wondered if she should show him her mark in return of the faith he had shown to her or if she should change the topic altogether, as the silence between them stretched longer and longer.

“Did you wonder why there are no other students here?” Nick asked her as he floated next to her on his back.

“I did actually. I was surprised that I was the only person here even though I have been here for so many hours.” Sabrina said with a breath of relief when Nick took the onus of solving her dilemma himself and lay down on her back to float next to him.

“When I found this place, which was actually a few months back when they were still working on the renovations, I had gotten lost too. So when I got back I went to the library to do some research and found out that this place and a few other places in the Academy can only be found when you get lost. They are enchanted places that anchor all the unholy strength that runs through the building. But too many witches and warlocks going in and out can taint the balance of nature they preserve so they were created in a way that they can’t be found if you’re looking for them. I guess teleporting to a person who was already there was a sort of loophole in the spells they cast.”

“Where did you find all this information?”

“There’s a book in the library called the Unseen Academy about the history of this place and the things that people have discovered over the years.”

“How Hermione Granger of you.” Sabrina said with a chuckle.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You’ve read Harry Potter?”

“I went to a mortal school for two years, Spellman.”

“Nerd.” Sabrina laughed and swam to the edge of the pool. As she turned around to pull herself out of the pond, Nick saw a fleeting glance of three jagged lines on her left shoulder through the haze of the soaked red fabric. It looked dark brown and the wave of disappointment wracked through him once again as his doubts returned. So much for not wanting to know. Sabrina sat on the edge of the pool, shivering a little in the draft that she had not noticed till now as Nick swam towards her and in a swift motion pulled himself out of the pool. He gave her a hand to help her up and held on tightly as he whispered under his breath, “Siccatum,” and the water evaporated out of the pores of both their clothes, leaving them dry and warm.

“Always have a nifty little trick up your sleeve, don’t you.” Sabrina said with a chuckle as she picked her jacket, shoes, and bag up.

“Always the tone of surprise.” Nick said with a wink as he did the same. “So what now, hiking like a mortal or you’d prefer to use one of those nifty little tricks and teleport out of here?”

“I’ll take the witchy way out this once.” Sabrina said with a yawn as the meagre energy she had in her from the sandwiches was spent with the hour or so they had spent in the water and took Nick’s hand as they both teleported out of there.

 

Sabrina was happy that she had exhausted herself the day prior otherwise she would not have been able to get a minute of sleep from the jitters she felt the minute she woke up and continued to feel as she made her way down to Father Blackwood’s office. She had hoped that she would be put under the supervision of a teacher while she gave her assessment but also knew she was hoping for something unachievable when Quentin came to fetch her that morning. As she walked behind the little boy, a spark of fire erupted before her and a small piece of paper materialized that she caught before it could flutter to the floor. All it said was ‘All the Best’ in the unmistakable handwriting of Nick, putting a smile on her face.

“Ms. Spellman.” Blackwood welcomed her with thinly veiled disdain and gestured to the armchair kept in the corner of the room where the setup had been placed for her. As she got to her place, the door opened and her aunt strode in with a bunch of papers in her hand that she promptly handed over to the headmaster before making her way to her niece. Zelda put a hand on Sabrina’s gave it a gentle squeeze before walking out of the room.

She took a deep breath and looked at the papers Blackwood placed in front of her before diving headlong into the one thing she had solely been preparing for over a week.

 

Sabrina stepped out of the Academy doors after having spent hours finishing the elaborate test Blackwood had created for her that would have stumped her at places if Nick hadn’t taught her so well and thoroughly, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. When she had exited Blackwood’s office, she had for a moment turned around to talk to Roz before realizing that she wasn’t at Baxter High anymore. She had rushed to her dormitory to get her phone determined to have a proper conversation with Roz. The network reception inside the building was horrible to the extent that she had begun to believe there were magical dampeners in place. The area around the Academy was glamoured to look empty and abandoned regardless of the number of witches that ventured in and out throughout the day, so she decided to walk along the tracks and have a long conversation with her oldest friend.

As she shut the door behind her and turned around, she saw Nick sitting at the bottom of the stairs deeply engrossed in the book in his hands, oblivious to his surroundings enough to not even budge when she sat down next to him.

“Is that book really that interesting?” Sabrina asked cheekily startling him. Nick looked up to find Sabrina sitting close enough that he could see the individual fluttering eyelash as she blinked in anticipation of his answer. It was a strange feeling that he felt in his heart like it was going to escape out of his chest. He had expected to feel things in his mark with her being around him all the time, but he wasn’t expecting to feel the flush in his cheeks and the quickening of his heart with every touch and each glance. He looked at her expression, awaiting his answer and turned the cover of the book towards her. “The Tenets of the Hierarchies of Hell. You’re such a nerd, Scratch. You would’ve been locker stuffing at Baxter if you weren’t on the football team.” Sabrina nudged him with her shoulder as she laughed.

“Don’t forget, I’m a warlock.” Nick lightly hit back with a tap on her leg using the back of his book before placing a bookmark in it and putting it aside.

“Even magic can’t save you from high school kids Nick, they’re vicious.”

“You underestimate me, Spellman.”

“Oh really?”

“Really.” Nick’s smug smile was matching the broad grin on her face, and for a moment they forgot that there was anyone else nearby. “What are you doing out here? How did the test go?”

“It went really well, I am sure I aced it. I came out because I had to make a call to Roz.” Sabrina looked down at the phone in her hand that had been blowing up with notifications since the second she stepped out of the main entrance.

“I get it, the network sucks inside.”

“How would you know?” Sabrina scoffs. “Who do you have to get in touch with that you can’t astral project to or send a fire message?”

“I have my secrets.” Nick said with a wink before getting up to leave giving Sabrina some privacy to make her call.

“Hey Roz, how’s everything?” She asks right as Roz picks up the phone, giving Nick such a brilliant smile that Nick couldn’t help but feel something which confused him even further and he gave her a quick salute with the book in his hand before he began walking back inside.

“Nothing is good Brina. There’s something really wrong with Harvey. He’s been really aggressive off late. He even got into a fight with Varun yesterday. Poor guy had to get stitches. I’ve been texting you since last night!”

“Varun?” Sabrina exclaimed a little louder than she had wanted to, reflexively turning around to see where Nick was, and catching him just before he opened the door. He turned around at the mention of the one true friend he had had at the mortal school.

“Harvey has been suspended for a week.” Roz was saying on the other end but Sabrina’s focus was on Nick as he mouthed at her – ‘What happened? Is he okay?’.

“Is Varun okay? Why did Harvey hit him?”

“He is fine, I think.” Roz said and Sabrina nodded at Nick with a sigh of relief. Nick had a look in his eyes for a few seconds that scared Sabrina before he schooled his features, but continued to linger at the top of the stairs. “He wasn’t even at fault. Theo and Varun were practicing for the dramatics assignment and apparently they were joking around and Varun was roughhousing with him, I’m not sure, Theo was rambling when he told me everything. But Harvey saw that and he didn’t let either of them explain, just began rambling about Varun trying to do something, I didn’t catch anything Theo said about that, and then he just punched the poor guy again and again.” Sabrina had automatically climbed the stairs one at a time while she listening as Roz narrated the incident and now both she and Nick stood leaning against the stone bannister. “The strange thing is Brina, within seconds of this Harvey stepped back from Varun and looked like he had just broken out of a trance, like he had no control over what he was doing, what he had done. He said the same thing to Principal Hawthorne but nobody believed him. I don’t know what to do or think here Brina. I wish you were here.” Roz was sounding so helpless that a sinking feeling had taken home in the pit of Sabrina’s stomach, if she could she would have teleported to her friend right that instant, but she couldn’t, so she didn’t.

“Roz, calm down. I’m going to be home over the weekend. I’ll go talk to Harvey. I’ll fix this I promise you.” Sabrina wished there was something more that she could do other than just make seemingly impossible promises.

“I hope you can, Brina. Everything is a mess. Theo is angry at Harvey, Harvey won’t speak with anyone, he’s not answering my calls. I’m scared.”

“Relax Roz, just take a deep breath.” Sabrina murmured a prayer over her friend and hoped it had some semblance of an effect through the phone. Sabrina stayed on the phone for another few minutes calming her friend down while Nick stood next to her scuffing the floor with his shoe clenching and unclenching in fists in a bid to calm down his anger. “I’ll see you over the weekend, Roz.” Sabrina finally said to her friend and Nick looked up as she cut the call.

“Why would your boyfriend hit Varun?” Sabrina balked at the mention of the word boyfriend, not sure if there was anything left between them after that fight, but refrained from correcting Nick.

“It was a misunderstanding. Harvey thought Varun was trying to hurt Theo.” They had begun to walk down the stairs instead of going back inside, walking alongside the abandoned tracks, attempting to put a distance between themselves and anybody who could overhear.

“Varun would never do that. He’s the most peace-loving mortal I’ve come across in my life. He’s easy-going to the point of being annoying really. And he would never do anything to the Putnam boy, he… he has a soft spot for him.” Nick considered his words for a minute before he opted to tell Sabrina the truth. “I don’t know enough about Kinkle, but I know he’s not an aggressive guy either. Otherwise, Coach Dawson would’ve put him on the team long ago. As much as I want to hex the farmboy for pulling this stunt, I think there’s something else at play here.” Sabrina considered Nick’s words with gravity and felt doom slip into the pit of her stomach even farther.

“I think it’s my fault.” Sabrina confessed and sat down on a tree stump as they stopped in a clearing at the edge of the forest. “Right before my Dark Baptism, I decided to go to Harvey and tell him the truth about my life but he did not take it well, so I had to make him forget it.” Sabrina had tears streaming down her face and Nick had to stop himself from walking to her and wiping the tears from her face.

“What spell did you use?” Nick knew there was no other detail that he had the right to ask for and neither did he want to know, so he decided to concentrate on fixing this problem for her. Sabrina had however made up her mind to tell him all the details she could about the night, down to the incantation she had used, she was desperate to not be the only one who knew everything about that night anymore.

“I couldn’t do much, I had to make him forget and leave him there.” Sabrina was sobbing by now, from heartbreak and relief. Nick resolved to wonder later about the rightness and wrongness of things and in two strides he had her engulfed in his arms as her body wracked with sobs.

“Hey, shhh, we’ll fix this.” Nick rubbed her arm lightly as Sabrina slowly calmed down and took a step back from him. Nick looked at her face to ensure that she was fine before sitting down next to her on the fallen tree trunk.

“Do you think there was something wrong in my spellwork?”

“I am not sure, it could be just your spell or the cumulative effect of your weak spell and my spell. Mortal brains are very susceptible to manipulations and too much of it can negatively affect it.”

“Where do you think I went wrong?”

“Remember I told you a few days ago you really need to take the Incantations class?” Sabrina chuckled at the mention of the time Nick had spent helping her study for the Incantations part of her aptitude test over the weekend and declared that it was the one thing she could not pass. “A lot of the spells we use are standard incantations researched and created by witches and warlocks over time, but when it comes to personal spells like these where the intentions and the invocations need to be a perfect match, things get complicated. What I understand from the spell you used is that you made him forget your words and your conversation, but not the emotions he felt when you told him everything. So now the anger is festering inside him without a target or a logical reason for its presence and therefore it is lashing out at the merest of provocations.” Sabrina gasped as Nick’s words sank in. She remembered how her Aunts used to reprimand her for callously making up her own little rhymes and spells when she was a child. She never knew the havoc a mere spell could cause until now.

“I need to go and tell him the truth again.” Sabrina got up from her spot, pacing the forest floor, wondering how she would even begin to have that conversation with him.

“That’s not going to work.” Nick sighed making Sabrina stop in her tracks. “If you tell him the truth again, the anger that is inside him with lash out at you tenfold. You’re feeding the monster, not slaying it. I’ve told you before when you do a spell that might need to be reversed later you need to create to backdoor in it. The only thing you can do right now is to do another spell to undo the previous one. You need to give him the memories back and we will deal with the consequences of it.”

“I need to go now, I need to fix this.”

“You can’t.” Nick stopped her with a hand on her arm worried that she was planning to teleport right away. “You just got done with your aptitude test today. You need to be here tomorrow when Blackwood declares the result. We start practising for the play tomorrow, your Aunt was about to put up the final list when I came out. I know that you want to help your mortal friends but you can’t put your real life on the back burner for it right now. Besides he has been suspended, he can’t harm any of your friends. You need to make a plan before you go and do anything, anything at all.”

“His father is a violent drunk. Normally Harvey ignores it, but I’m afraid that with all this going on inside him they can get into a bigger fight. His brother could get hurt.”  
“I’ll go tonight and put a temporary calming spell on his father. I can’t do that to Harvey because it won’t have any effect, but we can keep his father from stirring up unwanted trouble. Then we’ll go to his house first thing on Saturday and fix it. Don’t worry.”

“You don’t have to do that Nick. It’s my mess, I can fix it.”

“Kinkle is unstable right now and we don’t even know the magnitude of his rage. I can’t let you step in harm’s way like that, all alone. So yes, Sabrina, I have to do it.” Nick gave her a stern but reassuring look that left no room for negotiations. “Besides, I need to go back to town to see Varun too.” Sabrina raised her brows at him, remembering the spell he had done that made everyone at Baxter High forget of his existence and wondered why he would want to meet a friend who didn’t even remember him. “I told you, Spellman, I have my secrets.” Nick smirked as the confused look on Sabrina’s face morphed into one of shock as she realized the implication of his words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt really bad at putting up that small and shoddy work of a chapter so I spent the whole day today writing this and it felt so good to have some good ideas flow. I hope you guys like it. Here's a complimentary chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Even though there were barely twenty-four hours left before she could see Harvey and make sure he was alright, Sabrina was so on tenterhooks that when that morning Father Blackwood called her in to tell her that she had passed the assessment and could take Demonology, Incantations and Sacred Geometry in lieu of Latin, Scriptures and Herbalism starting from the next week, she didn’t even remember to ask about the other subjects she had been wanting to study. She curtly nodded her head at him in acknowledgement and left, leaving the headmaster baffled at the brevity of the conversation. She could chalk it up to the restless night she had, but she knew it was all because of the call the day before. Even Nick had felt her agitation and kept the conversations away from the topic of what they had to do.

She was jittery throughout the day considering she hardly had any classes to occupy herself with and the only thing that stopped her from teleporting to the Kinkle farm was the fact that she had promised Nick that she would not.

 _“What kind of God denies his followers pleasure?”_ Nick was reading on the stage with Lucas playing the False God and the rest of the cast scattered in the pews, some watching them while the others rehearsed their own lines. Sabrina sat in the back, looking at the practise going on on the stage as Zelda stopped Lucas to help him work the emotions and enunciations better. Nick looked away from his script to find Sabrina staring at the stage but seemingly lost in her own world. He winked at her playfully and was surprised to see her blink long and hard in response realizing that she had actually been looking at him.

“Admiring the view Spellman?” Prudence said smugly as she came and sat next to her, a costume along with a needle and some thread in hand. Sabrina rolled her eyes but held back from retorting with anything that would damage the fragile truce they had called amongst themselves. “I wouldn’t judge you if you were. Nick does draw your eyes to him, no matter where you are in the room.” Prudence looked at her friend on the stage with a smile and he smiled back.

“You would be the one to know, wouldn’t you?”

“Ofcourse. It looks like he has told you about our history together.” For a moment Sabrina startled wondering if Prudence could read her mind before remembering that Nick’s spell was still in place.

“He did, and he also told me how much Charlie means to him, so I am surprised that the stunt you pulled on him worked in your favour.” Sabrina stared at Prudence while she continued to stitch the dress in her hands.

“You told me to do anything to get him in a room to talk.” Prudence shrugged without looking up as she bit at the thread to break it off.

“I didn’t mean faking Charlie being sick.”

“Semantics, Sabrina. As long as it serves my purpose, manipulation is just a tool.”

“I wonder how much of your relationship was based on manipulation.”

“While I am apt at mind control, Nick has known it far longer than the time we were together. He learnt how to keep me out of his head when he realized that it was a part of my nature and there was no point in asking me to be vigilant about whose head I poked into. My magical skills and Nick’s understanding and acceptance of them have nothing to do with the relationship between us or the breakdown of it.”

“Really, then why did you both break up?” Sabrina knew that it was a strain that could possibly break the delicate peace between the two of them and she was better off asking this question from Nick but for some reason, she was afraid to ask him about it. In her heart, she knew that she was afraid of finding out that while Prudence was the one who initiated the breakup, he still felt something for her.

“When you feel something for someone during a tragedy, it often goes away when life hits normal again. Nick said that to me when we broke up.” Prudence avoided looking at Sabrina even though she stared at her in diminishing confusion as the words echoed in her head. She wanted to say something when she looked at the hurt on Pru’s face but did not know what she could say that would mean anything worthwhile, and she didn’t even get the chance when Zelda called her away from the conversation.

 

Sabrina realized the irony of standing before Harvey’s door again, for the same conversation, merely a fortnight after the first debacle. She looked Nick standing next to her, rocking on the balls of his feet, waiting for her to knock.

“I don’t know how he’s going to react to you being here.” Sabrina looked at him worriedly and Nick realized that they hadn’t planned for that contingency.

“You’re right.” Nick sighed and began to pat down his jacket. “Do you have a ribbon or a piece of yarn or something?” He asked her as he overturned his pockets looking for the same.

“I have some rope.” Sabrina pulled a small ball of rope from her bag that she often used as a toy for Salem.

“That’ll do.” Nick unravelled a few meters of the twine and tied one end around his wrist while giving her the other end and indicating for her to do the same before chanting something under his breath, that Sabrina only caught bits and parts of. “Now as long as that rope is touching your skin, you’ll be the only who can see me. The spell isn’t perfect and will probably wear off soon but I think we safely have an hour or so.” Nick nodded at Sabrina who was looking at him with riveted eyes.

“You know it’s fascinating how you can think of solutions and spells at the drop of a hat like that.” Sabrina chuckled making him colour up a little at the blatant compliment.

“Thank you, Spellman.” Nick smiled before asking. “Ready?”

“As well as I could ever be.” Sabrina took a final deep breath and knocked on the door. It was only a few seconds before the door flew open and smiling Harvey stood before her.

“Sabrina!” Harvey exclaimed and surged forward to hug her. Sabrina hugged back one-handed, making sure that the rope did not touch the man in her arms.

“Hey, Harvey.” Sabrina smiled back him as she stepped back from the hug and Harvey pulled her inside with him.

“Oh god! I’ve missed you so much Brina, you won’t believe it!” Harvey was hugging her again in the middle of the kitchen where he had dragged her and Nick hung back awkwardly, his arm pulled forward so that Sabrina could hug him back. “When did you get back from your new school? I didn’t think you would be coming before Thanksgiving.”

“I heard from Roz about your suspension Harvey.” Sabrina said sitting down at the kitchen Island as Nick took the stool next to her while Harvey sat down opposite, taking her hand in his. Sabrina intentionally kept her hand that was tied to Nick under the table and away from his reach.

“They blew the whole thing out of proportion. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding but I was only trying to protect Theo and it seemed like that Patel guy was giving him a hard time.”

“I understand Harvey. It must have been a misunderstanding; you would not hit someone like that otherwise.”

“No Sabrina, you don’t understand. I would, if it is to protect my friends and the people I love, I would do it again.” The look that crossed Harvey’s face made Nick sit up in his spot, alert.

“Harvey, this isn’t you…” Sabrina began to say but Nick squeezed her hand under the table to stop her from antagonizing him any further. “I came here to talk to you about something else, actually.” Sabrina shook her head and changed the topic.

“Sabrina, I’m sorry for how I behaved before you left. I was hurt and I lashed out at you for wanting to leave me behind.” Harvey said before letting out a chuckle that had a tinge of madness to it. “And look at what happened with you gone I got into such big trouble. This would never have happened with you here. Things are so weird without you; I just wish you hadn’t decided to leave like this.” Harvey had gotten up from his place and his words had begun to sway to the verge of ramblings. “Now Roz and Theo aren’t talking to me. We are all in splinters now that you’re gone.”

“Harvey, I am a witch.” Sabrina blurted it out, worried that Harvey’s incoherent thoughts were aggravating him further, without realizing that it was not going to help in any possible way, but her words did stop him mid-sentence.

“Why do I feel like you’ve told me this before?” Harvey’s face was screwed in concentration as Sabrina got up to stand before him.

“Because I’ve told you this before, on my sixteenth birthday, but you got so upset that I had to make you forget it.” Sabrina put a hand on his cheek and Nick almost began to get up from his spot, worried about Harvey lashing out as he put a hand on her upper arm.

“Why would you say that? Is this some kind of a trick? What do you mean you made me forget?” Nick pulled at the rope to get Sabrina’s attention and as she looked away Harvey’s hand that held her in his grasp tightened.

 _“Memento mea veritate.”_ Sabrina hurriedly murmured under her breath and planted a ghost of a kiss on his lips before letting him go. Harvey’s face contorted in confusion as Sabrina took a few steps back and Nick hurriedly pulled her behind him.

“You’ve told me this before…” Harvey whispered as the clouded look in his eyes began to dissipate. “You said you only slept with me so that I could get the devil’s mark on my body. You wanted me to be like you, a devil worshipper. You came to me that night before your skewed version of baptism was going to happen.” Harvey sat down in his spot and held his head in his hands while Sabrina worried that her spell had backfired again with all the incorrect things that Harvey was remembering.

“No Harvey, you’re remembering it all wrong. I came that night to tell you that I love you and I wanted you to know the whole of me.” Sabrina took a tentative step forward but Harvey got up from his place and furiously began to pace the floor.

“I wish you hadn’t told me this, Sabrina. I wish you hadn’t told me any of this.” Harvey’s arms were flailing and in the small space of the kitchen, there was only so much he could move without hitting Nick. Nick tried to move further back, till his back hit Sabrina’s side and he froze, there being no other place to go.

“I love you Harvey, and I know you love me too. I wanted you to love the whole of me. I wanted you to know the truth about me.” Nick was worried that Sabrina was going to start to cry but her eyes were surprisingly dry. He grabbed her hand to give it a squeeze and Sabrina held on to it instead.

“And what did I say, Sabrina? Did I tell you that there was no way that I could be with someone like you, that you repulsed me? I should have. I must have.” Harvey took a menacing step forward and jabbed a finger towards her heart but his finger stopped mid-air having hit Nick’s chest instead as he stood between the two.

“Harvey…”

“Do you have some shield around you now? You think you need protection from me? It should be me who seeks protection from the likes of you.” Nick reached to remove the bindings from his wrist and let his presence be known so that he could handle this raving lunatic properly but Sabrina held his hand and stopped him.

“Harvey neither am I here to hurt you, nor would I ever want to do anything to you that you wouldn’t want done. I only thought that you, being the first and only person that I loved, should know everything about me. I’m sorry that didn’t realize how that would affect you. I didn’t think there was anything in this world that could make you stop loving me, just like there couldn’t have been anything to stop me from loving you.” Harvey had sunk to the floor against the kitchen island, his hands drawn into his hair and he looked almost ready to pull them out. Sabrina crouched down to kneel before him and put a hand on his shoulder making him look up.

“I think you should go.” Harvey spoke in a voice so small that while Sabrina felt a spark of joy in her that his anger was beginning to thaw, it broke her on the inside. She sat there in front of him for a few moments before standing up and picking up her bag from the counter and with one last look at the broken boy behind her, she left.

 

When Sabrina had walked out of Harvey’s house she had wanted to cry and break down but she couldn’t. She felt like she had already shed all the tears that she could over this relationship in the last few weeks, and now all she felt was an eerie kind of peace. Nick followed a little behind her, giving her the space she needed to deal with the consequences of what had just happened, the rope that still tied them together swinging laxly between them. As they neared the woods on the edge of the Kinkle farm, she looked behind, knowing that he was there and gave him a pained smile. Nick smiled back at her reassuringly and walked to stand before her.

“Thank you for being there Nick. Means a lot.” Sabrina smiled at him as Nick took her wrist to undo the ties before moving on to his own bindings. With the bonds between them undone, Sabrina reached forward and drew him into a hug he was not anticipating but he hugged her back nonetheless. They stayed that way for a while and Nick drew soothing circles on her back.

“Anytime, Spellman.” Nick said with a cheeky wink making Sabrina chuckle as she stepped away from him. “Are you okay?” He asked seriously.

“I will be.” Sabrina answered truthfully as they resumed walking and fell in step next to each other.

“So, where are you headed now?”

“I need to see Roz and Theo. I will have to tell them the truth.”

“Are you sure you want to do that today?”

“With Harvey knowing, it is bound to come out and I want to be the one they find it out from. But you’re right, maybe not today. I’m too emotionally spent for the day. What about you? Where to?”

“I’ll go see how badly bruised a certain Patel boy is.” Nick chuckled. “And I think they’re all at the same place.” Nick showed her his phone that had a short video Varun had sent of Theo, Roz and himself laughing in a booth at Dr. Cerberus’s.

“So he’s your dirty little secret.” Sabrina asked, cheekily wagging her brows making Nick groan.

“That sounds really wrong.” Nick made a face that Sabrina couldn’t help but laugh at, though he saw the hurt that she was trying really hard to mask. “He was the first friend I made at Baxter. Even before I was on the team, he had extended a hand of friendship. Hell even before I had decided I was going to stay at Baxter after the spellwork was done, he was shadowing me like a lost puppy. When I saw you at the mortal school with mortal friends I was intrigued at the hierarchy between you guys, of how there could be an equal friendship in your group with such blatant imbalance of power, but he was the one who showed me how easy it was. So when I had to reverse the spell, I decided to tell him the truth. He has always been a person who would not judge you for anything based on his own morality and I had the faith that he would understand, it was a risk I was willing to take.”

“How long has he known?”

“Close to six months now. Right when Father Blackwood accepted the post of Headmaster and we all knew my time at the mortal school would soon come to an end.”

“Wow, six months and he didn’t give anything away!” Sabrina looked impressed with the loyalty Varun had shown towards Nick and a bit hopeful that maybe her friends could accept her that way too. “So you broke the Code of Secrecy. That’s the bad boy streak I knew you for back in the Baxter High days. And here all the nerdiness you show at the Academy was making me think that was just a façade.” Sabrina moved to the side to nudge him with her shoulder but he sidestepped her guessing her intention and she would’ve almost fallen on her side if Nick hadn’t caught hold of her arm and steadied her.

“My loyalty lies with the commandments of the Dark Lord, not with the codes created by witch-kind. We are followers of a God who tells us that we ourselves and our desires come before any else, and I desired to keep my friend by my side, so I did.” Nick shrugged with a nonchalance that made Sabrina a little jealous of the surety with which he lived his life.

“How do you know so much about Incantations and spellwork?”

“I have studied it all for a very long time, not just under Blackwood, and as you like to mention, again and again, I am a nerd.” Nick chuckled and Sabrina laughed with a peal of tinkling laughter the sound of which Nick was learning to identify as one of his favourite sounds in the world.

“Really how old are you, Nicholas Scratch?”

“You should never ask a warlock his age.”

“Nick…” Sabrina whined like the teenager that she was.

“It’s been close to eight years since I had my Dark Baptism.”

“You’re more than half a decade older than me!” Sabrina stopped dead in her tracks in surprise.

“Doesn’t show, does it. That’s hardly any time in a witch’s life.” Nick said with a cheeky grin before continuing ahead and Sabrina ran after him.

 

Roz, Theo and Varun were sitting in their usual booth at Cee’s chatting animatedly, when Sabrina and Nick walked in. Varun’s face lit up in a way that looked comical with the large bandage over his nose but he caught himself before Theo could notice.

“Hey Brina!” Theo shot out of the booth as the two neared and Varun helped Roz manoeuvre out of the booth to hug Sabrina. They all sat down with Sabrina and Nick taking the side across from Theo and Roz while Varun pulled a stool for himself.

“Did you see Harvey?” Roz asked the moment they settled down.

“We… I did. I talked to him. He will be fine, I hope. Maybe don’t mention me around him for a while. He was angry at our break up and he lashed out at the wrong person without a reason. I am sorry Varun.” Roz drew a breath at the explicit mention of their breakup. For a while, the friends had remained hopeful that those two would get back together but it seemed too final now, with the words being said.

“It’s okay Sabrina, bygones.” Varun smiled at her and attempting to wink with his heavily bruised eye before wincing in pain that made everyone chuckle. Theo cleared his throat and looked at Sabrina pointedly while gesturing with his eyes at the new unknown person at their table.

“Oh, where are my manners.” Sabrina smacked herself. “Guys, this is my friend from the Academy, Nicholas Scratch.” She pointed to Nick dramatically like a showgirl making him roll his eyes. “And Nick these are my friends from Baxter High, Rosalind Walker, Theo Putnam and Varun Patel.” Nick shook hands with each other them, smiling at the weirdness of meeting the people he already knew for the first time all over again.

“You can call me Roz.” Roz said as Nick gingerly took her hand for what Roz thought was to be a handshake, instead he lightly brushed his lips over her knuckle making her giggle and wish she could see this flirt of a boy Sabrina had brought with her.

“And I am just Theo.” Theo extended his hand for a brief shake.

“Not Theodore?” Nick asked mischievously.

“Just Theo.”

“Nice to meet you, Just Theo.” Nick said making Sabrina smack him on his arm. Varun opened his mouth for what Sabrina correctly guessed was to drag the joke further through the mud by introducing himself as ‘Just Varun’ and shot it down with a pointed glare.

“Sabrina, tell us all about this new school of yours! We’ve been dying to know! You didn’t even call in the past two weeks!” Theo excitedly asked and Nick patted Sabrina’s knee under the table when he saw her nervously gulp for all the truths she would have to heavily mask with lies knowing well enough that it was the last thing she wanted to do.

“It’s going great! There are these extra credit classes that I wanted to take so I had to give an assessment test this week for them. Nick really helped me through that.” Sabrina looked at the boy next to her and gave him a thankful smile that was meant to be for far more than just helping her clear the exam.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you Nick. Are you a sophomore too?” Roz asked.

“No, I’m a… Junior.”

“How long have you been at… the Academy? Sabrina you never told us the name of your school.” Theo remembered and Sabrina and Nick shared a look, not knowing the perfect lie for that question.

“Oh, you know you guys came right on time. They’re taking down the horror double feature tomorrow so we were planning to go one last time. You both should come along!” Varun piped in drawing the attention from Sabrina and Nick who were still utterly silent on the topic. Sabrina looked at Nick to check with him if he was okay spending more time with her friends, to which he replied in a brief nod.

“Sure. Besides, I don’t have anything else to do for the rest of the day. How about you Nick?”

“Fine by me.” Nick replied and everyone filed out of the diner. Once outside they split up with Roz, Theo and Sabrina heading ahead with Nick and Varun falling back enough to be out of earshot.

“Why did you not tell me you got into a fistfight with Harry Kinkle?” Nick hissed under his breath and slapped Varun on his arm with the back of his hand as they walked safely ten steps behind the other three.

“Ouch!” Varun dramatically groaned and rubbed his arm. “Because you would’ve cursed the living daylight out of the poor fellow. You hate him just on the principle that he is dating Sabrina.”

“I don’t hate him, especially not because he _was_ dating Spellman.”

“Yeah right. You refuse to take his name correctly and you want me to believe you don’t despise his existence.” Nick rolled his eyes but refrained from saying anything.

While Nick, Varun and Theo got in line for the concession stand, the girls decided to do a quick run to the loo and Nick gave Sabrina’s hand a quick squeeze of reassurance as she passed by him.

“I’m surprised to see that you’re still hanging around with this one, after her friend beat you up so badly.” Theo closed his eyes in irritation as Varun and Nick turned around to see Billy and the other boys walked up to them “We really need to tell Coach Dawson that you don’t have a spine.” Billy said as his friends sniggered behind him like he had said something more than merely inconveniencing.

“Hey dicks for brains.” Theo said as he pushed Varun behind when he began to charge towards the four of them.

“What did you say dyke?” Carl who stood behind Billy came forward and towered over him menacingly.

“Mere facts.” Theo shrugged, though he fisted his hands, ready to throw the first punch if need be. He was done being pushed around by these boys.

“Now boys, this is no civil way to talk to each other.” Nick stopped Carl from coming forward with a hand on his chest and a dangerous look on his face. In reality, Nick had been itching for a fight since earlier that day and if it came in form of revenge for his friends, even better.

“And who is this new guy?” Billy, acting like the de-facto spokesperson pulled Carl back and stood before Nick, sizing him down. “Are you fags into some kinky threesome stuff now?” Before the laughter could begin the first punch was thrown and as Theo’s fist connected with Billy’s jaw, he let out a hearty laugh.

 

While all this went on outside, the two girls were having a conversation through the stall doors in the otherwise empty bathroom as Roz used the toilet and Sabrina splashed some cold water on her face.

“Are you sure you guys are okay Brina?” Roz called out as Sabrina looked up and stared at her dripping face in the mirror. Roz could tell there was something wrong without having seen the sunken look on her face, and she wondered how she would have been hounded if she could.

“We are whatever is akin to being okay after such a whirlwind breakup.” Sabrina said with a sigh as she began to wipe her face. She had been worrying that tears were going to fall down her face any moment since the time she had stepped away from Harvey. Her thoughts swung like a pendulum between knowing that she had been ready for this for a while and worrying that the gravity of it hadn’t hit her yet. She wiped and schooled her face as the flush sounded and Roz emerged from the cubicle.

“I just don’t understand why your fights led to such a rough breakup. I was hoping that when you came for Thanksgiving we could all get together and you will both be okay.” Roz felt her way to the washbasins and washed her hand as Sabrina stood there next to her holding on to porcelain.

“I guess we did not have it in us to weather through anything major. He did not understand my need to go to this school and I did not understand his urgency to keep me near. In the end it was far too bitter than I was hoping for it to be, but truly I think I saw this coming for quite a while.” Sabrina remembered the time when she had walked on eggshells around Harvey in the days leading up to her dark baptism and how his confession of love was far surprising to her than a breakup might have been. “Roz there’s something I need to tell you.” Sabrina grabbed her hand and Roz turned to face her. Sabrina wondered if it was sensible to tell her friends separately.

“I know Sabrina.”

“You know?”

“I know that you want to tell me that you will still love Harvey and I understand. I know you and I know that no matter how upsetting the past few weeks have been, you will always cherish your happier days. I have known you all our lives. I know all about you. You don’t have to tell me this.” Sabrina felt her heart crack when she heard those words again – ‘I know you’ and felt the lie in them stab her like a hot poker. She felt her throat constrict and wondered if she was ever going to be able to tell her friends the truth, so she just hugged her friend in response before they stepped out.

“Nick!” Sabrina screamed as the two girls came out of the washroom and saw their three friends in a tussle with the four bullies from school while two guards rushed towards them from the entrance.

“Call the police!” One guard shouted to the other as they ran in.

“What’s happening?” Roz asked as Sabrina pulled her along.

“I’ll tell you later.” Sabrina said before taking Nick’s hand and pulling him away from the fight and towards the entrance just as Varun pulled Theo up from the ground. As they ran out one of the guards split from away from the other and rushed towards them to detain them till the police arrived but Nick slyly, with a twist of his wrist and a few barely audible words made him go down as the five friends ran out of the theatre.

Sabrina pulled Roz and Nick behind her into an alley and Varun joined them in a few moments tugging a battered Theo in with him. The three boys looked at each other and burst into loud raucous laughter.

“Will someone bother to tell me why you guys were fighting in a theatre and why we had to run out of there like criminals?” Sabrina stood before them with her hands on her hips, looking so furious that the three of them stopped laughing instantly. Nick looked at her with a placating glance but her temper was not going to be subdued.

“Billy was saying shit again and I felt like rearranging his face.” Theo said with barely concealed anger as he wiped the blood that was smeared over his cut lip.

“Again?” Roz said in disbelief and wondered why those boys just won’t leave them alone.

“What do you mean again?” Sabrina turned to Roz.

“He has been bullying Theo for a while now, but it’s gotten worse in the past weeks.”

“And why didn’t you tell me this?”

“They have been doing this for years. There’s nothing new here. I just didn’t like that they were picking up on Varun because of me. You were away at another school in another town. What could you have done?” Theo chimed in and watched Sabrina’s face fall as she walked away from there. “Sabrina!” Theo called after her but she did not stop.

“I’ll go after her. You guys get yourself checked out.” Nick patted Varun on his arm and ran after her.

Sabrina walked without any purpose or destination, tears that had felt clogged inside her finally flowing at her incapability of telling her friends the truth. The truth that would’ve brought them to her in their hour of need if they knew it.

“Sabrina.” Nick finally said as he stopped her with a hand on her wrist and she was startled to find that they were in the middle of the forest and the night had begun to fall.

“I couldn’t tell them. I wanted to but I couldn’t tell them the truth.” Sabrina cried and once again Nick found her in his arms. Not that he was complaining.

“Shh… it’s okay. You’ll have other chances to.”

“Harvey will tell them before I can and they would believe the version he tells them. I don’t even know what exactly he remembers and why he is so angry.”

“I could go and hex him.” Nick said nonchalantly and Sabrina pulled back to look at his face. “After today, I want to do a lot more than just hexing him, but I guess that’ll have to do.” He shrugged.

“Nick!” Sabrina hit him on his arm as he chuckled and she wiped her face with a smile before they began walking.

“So where to now?” Nick asked breaking the silence that had settled between them.

“Home I guess. I could do with some good sleep in my own bed and some of my aunt’s food. What about you? Academy?”

“Probably the Orphanage.”

“Maybe I should come to drop you and meet Charlie.”

“He’d like that.”

“You sure.”

“Yeah, why not. So slumming it like a mortal or can we teleport?” Nick joked and Sabrina made a face at him before vanishing into thin air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote that confrontation right after the first one, before the baptism itself. In the first draft, Nick wasn't there. When I started writing the Academy days, I revisited it and realized he should be there. In that version, he wasn't hidden and it was even messier than it was now. But I realized I needed a balance between the two versions. Besides, I have other plans for Nick and Harvey's "first" meeting. Also, Nick was going to be double Sabrina's age but that didn't fit some of the plans I have for him.
> 
> Now, question: I could just skip Sabrina meeting Charlie and go into the next week or do you guys want to see it?


	14. Chapter 14

A few moments later when Nick materialized in the Orphanage driveway, Sabrina was leaning against the wrought iron gates lazily as if she had been waiting for him for a long time. Even though the Blackwood Orphanage was on the outskirts of town, and as secluded as the Spellman Mortuary, Sabrina had crossed the gates a few times and it wasn’t hard for her to imagine them as she had teleported. While the mortuary only had the cemeteries to loosely demarcate the boundary of their land, the orphanage had high concrete walls and looming gates that wrapped around the scary-looking two storey house. Nick swirled his hand and the gates opened inwards, making Sabrina stumble backward as she looked to find Nick standing near the porch stairs.

“That’s cheating.” Sabrina pouted from the ground as the gates automatically closed behind her with a loud thud.

“I didn’t know we had an official end line to this race.” Nick said with a chuckle as he walked close and offered her a hand to help her stand up.

“Is that how you welcome all your guests?”

“Only the very cute ones.”

“You both look adorable with all that ‘approved for children’ flirting of yours.” Came a voice from the porch and the two turned around to find Prudence blowing the lit match in her hand. She closed the door of the lantern and eyed the two of them curiously while they made their way up the stairs.

“Hey, Pru. Hi Tabitha.” Nick said looking at the little girl who stood hidden behind Prudence, holding onto her skirt.

“Hi, Nick.” The little girl pulled her thumb out of her mouth briefly to greet the warlock before promptly putting it back in.

“Tabitha, this is my friend Sabrina.” Nick gestured towards Sabrina who stood next to him and the little girl slunk further into Prudence’s shadow when Sabrina waved at her.

“Now Bee, what have we talked about good manners when someone new comes home?” Prudence looked down at her with a motherly admonishment surprising Sabrina. She had expected it from Nick going by all the stories she had heard about the children here but she wasn’t quite expecting Prudence to fill in the role of a mother.

“It’s nice to meet you.” The little pipsqueak peaked out from behind the older girl and gave Sabrina a shy smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too Tabitha.”

“So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence Spellman?”

“I came to see Nick safely home. You know it’s not good to be out alone after dark.” Sabrina pursed her lips as Nick glared at her and a tiny giggle came from behind Prudence’s legs.

“She came to meet Charlie and Bee.” Nick replied with a brief roll of his eyes before gesturing towards the doors and the girls followed in after him.

“Ms. Spellman. I see you have taken to practicing this new hobby of yours of barging through my doors quite seriously and regularly.” Father Blackwood chanced upon the faces of the people who walked in making him stop on the stairs he was climbing down.

“Good evening Father.” Sabrina bowed her head but barely and received a curt nod in response.

“Nicky!” Two boys around the age of eight came running out of the archway on the left through which Sabrina could see the kitchen and hear the bustle of dinner time.

“Charles! Alistair! No running in the halls, I have told you this before.” Father Blackwood bellowed and the two boys came to an abrupt stop, standing dutifully on either side of Nick with their heads hung. One of the boys looked from the corner of his eye as the High Priest crossed them and went towards the kitchen before he jumped to grab Nick’s hand.

“I drew Baphomet! Agatha says it looks very devilish. Come see.” He pulled the older warlock towards the kitchen and Sabrina chuckled as Nick over his shoulder at her with a smile and gestured for her to follow.

“Are you Sabrina?” She heard someone say next to her and she looked down to see the other boy looking at her curiously.

“I am. And you’re Charlie if I am not mistaken?” Sabrina crouched down to his height and he beamed at getting to make eye contact with this peculiar witch who recognised him without having met him even once.

“I am Charles Night. Nice to meet you.” Charlie held out his hand like Nick had taught him to do and Sabrina took it with a smile shaking it briefly. Charlie did not let go of her hand but dragged her with him behind the others.

“Spellman.” The two weird sisters said together in surprise as they looked up from the food they were putting down on the large table kept at the other end of the room where sat Father Blackwood flanked on each side by Prudence and Tabitha while Nick was at the kitchen counter with Alistair looking at a drawing.

Sabrina stood in the middle of the large room wondering what she was supposed to do now and considered taking her leave and heading home before Tabitha got down from her seat and walked to her.

“Will you be staying for dinner?” Charlie tugged at her hand and asked.

“I am not sure.” She looked up at Nick at the kitchen island and wordlessly asked what she should do to which he only shrugged in response.

“Please stay.” The little girl said more confidently than she had been on the porch and Sabrina smiled at the little support and took Sabrina's other hand.

“My aunts would be waiting.”

“They wouldn’t mind if you dine at the High Priest’s table.” Blackwood gestured to an empty seat as Sabrina considered her options before choosing to take the invitation and sat down at the last seat across from Charlie at the other end of the table. Nick walked towards them with Alistair in tow before taking the seat Tabitha had vacated like it was officially his designated place at Blackwood’s side, which it probably was.

Sabrina looked around her at the three children and the five adults as everyone sat down without much hassle or jostling around. The scene before her looked like any other household with a little too many kids and a single father and she looked down at the seat she had occupied thinking about the person this table was missing.

More than eight years ago, when Sabrina was barely older than Charlie is now, during the summers, all anyone could talk about was the three teenaged orphan girls Lady Constance Blackwood had taken in after their previous caretaker who happened to be a relative of Father Blackwood suddenly passed away. A little after that had come two more and over time the Blackwood Manor came to be called the Blackwood Orphanage, a name Constance took immense pride in, before her untimely death during childbirth less than a year ago. Sabrina had heard something about ‘poor motherless babes’ from her aunts around January early that year.

“So Sabrina…” Father Blackwood wiped his face and leaned on his elbows as he looked at the witch sitting diagonally across from him at the long table. “…I take that you are happy with the new classes that you have been assigned, guessing from the barely any protest you made yesterday.”

“Oh, I am, Father. I am quite excited at the prospect of starting from Monday.” She said with a smile and Blackwood sat back in his chair with a smug and satisfied smile. “However…” Sabrina relished in the fall of the headmaster’s smile as she continued. “I was disappointed that you did not test me for the basics of conjuring and binding as I had been vocal about wanting to take those classes as well.”

“You need to pass these intermediary subjects before I can allow you to go on to take higher and more complicated studies such as conjuring.”

“If I have proved anything from acing the assessment test, it is that I can take on any challenge you put before me. So why not test me for it before being so dismissive about it.” Sabrina put her utensils down and stared back at the man. He looked around at the gaggle of children that sat around him who had stopped eating and were now looking at him curiously awaiting his answer before he got up from his spot. Sabrina watched him walk out of the room and looked down at her half-eaten plate of food wondering if she had overstayed her welcome. She began to get up from her place when Blackwood walked back in with a weird looking contraption in his hand and placed it before Sabrina.

“What is this?” She asked looking at it curiously, with its knobs and pentagram shaped conduits jutting out of it.

“That’s an Acheron configuration, an arcane puzzle.” Agatha piped in and Sabrina looked to see everyone looking curiously at the contraption too. She found Nick looking at her instead with something unreadable in his eyes.

“A variation of it, but yes. It’s a test of mental as well as actual dexterity.” Blackwood sat down in his spot and looked at the device with a clouded look in his eyes before looking up to meet Sabrina’s gaze. “Solve it and you can join the conjuring class.” Blackwood sat back in the seat, his chin resting on his fingers as his elbow teetered on the armrest.

“Or go mad trying.” Agatha tilted her head with a cheeky smile.

“That won’t happen with Ms. Spellman here. Only the weak will fall prey to the Acheron’s fascinations.” Blackwood said to Sabrina challengingly and she looked up from the orb to give him a tight smile.

“Quite right, Father.”

“Father, if I may.” Prudence piped in and Blackwood turned towards her and nodded for her to continue. “What if I can solve this puzzle? Would you then take me under your wing?” Blackwood wanted to roll his eyes at the audacity of these mere witches to challenge him like this again and again and wondered if he had begun to come across as softer than he wanted to be seen as.

“Child, it is not easy as you witches seem to have assumed. Alright, how about this, if you both can, together, solve this, I will give the two of you what you desire.” Blackwood spread his hands out towards the two of them and they shared a look before nodding at him. “Well, that settled then. Now if you will excuse me. Children, it’s time for bed.” Blackwood looked at the three little children pointedly before walking out. Just as he exited the kids gathered around Sabrina looking at the weird machine in front of her before Prudence came and snatched it up.

“I will take the first crack at it then.” She said and walked out without giving Sabrina chance to retort. Agatha gathered the kids and led them out while Dorcas waved her hand leading to the dirty plates assembling themselves in the sink where they promptly began to wash themselves.

“I’ll walk you out.” Nick said as he neared Sabrina and she stood up from her spot and followed him out.

“I will have to find a way to get that Acheron back if I am going to even attempt to solve it.” Sabrina said as the two of them walked down the stairs towards the main gate. She looked at Nick still looking at her weirdly but remaining mute before she snapped and asked, “What? Out with it Scratch.”

“That particular configuration was your father’s thesis. He designed and built it.” Nick put his hands in his pocket and rocked back on his heels.

“My father did?”

“Yeah. Blackwood has been trying to solve it for years. I tried for three before I gave up. See that contraption is made like a kaleidoscope. Its patterns and colours are addictive and the more you stare at it, the harder it is to solve. If you’re not careful it can mess with your head and you can get lost in it. With due respect Sabrina, Blackwood is just setting the two of you up to fail.” Nick’s hands wildly gestured around in vague formations before falling to his side.

“If my Father made it, didn’t he write anything about it in his journals? You have read them haven’t you?”

“Nothing that I have come across. At least nothing explicit.”

“Well, yes, but you’re not a Spellman. Maybe you’re not looking in the right places.”

“You’re welcome to try and ask for permission to the Sanctum.”

“Or you could sneak me in.”

“Not likely, Spellman. I’m not looking to get expelled in my first month at the Academy.”

“Oh, Blackwood loves you, he’d never expel you.” Sabrina walked away from Nick who stood at the bottom of the stairs watching her go.

“And you’re itching to prove yourself right, aren’t you, Spellman?” Nick shouted behind her.

“You’re learning to understand me Scratch. I will see you at the library on Monday.” Sabrina shot behind her shoulder and teleported out of there as she walked out of the gates.

 

Sabrina teleported right into her room and fell into her bed with a thud, the events of the day catching up with her and making the exhaustion seep into her bones.

“Is that you, darling?” She heard the muffled sound of her aunt from the other side of the door and raised her head to shout a response. She lay there, procrastinating on changing her clothes and getting into bed when her door opened and Ambrose strolled in.

“Auntie H is asking why you’re so late. We were expecting you here, by breakfast, then by lunch. She still had some hopes left that you would come home before dinner.” Ambrose jumped on to the bed next to her making her lithe body bounce on the springy mattress.

“I had dinner at Nick’s.” Sabrina sat up next to her brother and leaned on his shoulder.

“Oh, so you’ve already reached the point of supping with the family. Might I say, that’s quite fast, especially for you cous.” Ambrose chuckled and Sabrina wanted to elbow him but she did not feel like she had much energy in her.

“He stays with Father Blackwood. I had just gone over to meet one of the kids at the Blackwood Orphanage but Father asked me to stay.”

“You dined with the High Priest!” Zelda’s surprised voice made them look up to see the said aunt standing in the doorway. “That’s a great honour! Well, at least you made good use of the day while you made your family wait.” Zelda said before turning on her heels and going away and the two kids sniggered behind their hands in response.

“At least some good came out of this horrible day.” Sabrina fell back onto the bed and Salem jumped up to snuggle by her side.

“Want to talk about it?” Ambrose lay down next to her and looked at her with all the seriousness he could muster.

“Maybe tomorrow. I am absolutely exhausted right now. Too tired to even change.” Sabrina groaned and Ambrose stood up before snapping his fingers that changed Sabrina’s clothes into comfortable pyjamas.

“Sleep well, sister. And I shall be here to listen to you tomorrow morning.” Ambrose leaned forward to kiss her lightly on her forehead and walked out, closing the door and switching the lights off behind him.

 

Even before the house had begun to stir, Sabrina, still clad in her pyjamas, sauntered into Ambrose’s room to find her cousin sprawled in his bed bare-chested and snoring loudly. She picked up his robe from the back of the chair and threw it on his face before collapsing down on the bed next to him.

“Wake up Ambrose!” She said loudly as she stared at the slow-moving vintage fan on the ceiling and Ambrose groaned next to her.

“Cous, if this is how it’s going to be every time you come home, I might just put up some wards around the house to keep you away.” Ambrose yawned and pulling the fabric off his face rubbed his eyes.

“I need your help.”

“What have you done now?”

“I had to reverse the memory charm I placed on Harvey and now he knows everything so I need to find a way to tell Roz and Theo too.” Sabrina rattled off quickly and watched Ambrose’s eyes grow wider with each passing minute.

“You did WHAT?” Ambrose sat up with a start and stared at the girl still lying on his bed.

“I had to. The spell had gone wrong and the anger that Harvey had felt towards me was festering inside him leading to him getting into fights at school.”

“What anger? Why would he be angry at you?”

“Maybe he was angry about me being a witch or the fact that for him to be my soulmate he would need the devil’s mark on him or that I was leaving Baxter. I don’t know.”

“Urgh, honestly sister, good riddance.”

“Ambrose!” Sabrina glared at him as she sat up but he shrugged and put on the gown that was in his hands. “Now that he knows, I need to find a way to tell Roz and Theo.”

“You really want to take such a big risk? Even though the Code of Secrecy has been quite lax in the past decades after your parents’ marriage, it’s still frowned upon to let mortals in on the truth of our witch nature.”

“I didn’t want to, but with Harvey knowing, the truth is bound to come out. I wanted to do it yesterday but I couldn’t. I’m scared Harvey will tell them before I do and he might end up saying something that is not true. Nick even offered to hex him if he does.”

“Now, that’s the kind of warlock friend I can get behind. Literally and figuratively.” Ambrose chuckled earning a whack on his side from Sabrina and he sat back down next to her.

“You’re not helping.”

“I can’t hold your hand through telling your friends the truth, cous. There’s nothing I can do to help. There are no spells I can cast to make sure everything goes without a hitch. You would just have to have faith in the trust your friends have in you and hope for the best.” Ambrose patted her lightly on her knee.

“I’ll just have to jump into this battle sooner rather later, won’t I?” Sabrina sighed and looked at Ambrose who just nodded solemnly with pursued lips. Sabrina leaned in and held on to Ambrose’s sleeve as they sat there in silence till it was broken by the sound of the screen door leading to the back porch slam shut.

“I guess now that the aunts are awake, I’d rather go and freshen up, since there’s no chance of going back to sleep this fine morning.” Ambrose got up with a loud yawn and stretched as Sabrina also stood up and ducked under his outstretched arm.

“Race you to the breakfast table?”

“Not fair, you’re already done with washing up.”

“How do you know?”

“Really sis, did you come to talk to me with your nasty morning breath?” Sabrina just shrugged at the insinuation and walked out of the room. “Gross!” Ambrose shouted behind her and heard her giggle in the corridor.

 

By the time Sabrina entered the kitchen, dressed more formally in a skirt and a turtleneck, Ambrose was slumped the dining table bench munching on an apple, a well-loved book in hand. He mouthed _‘I won’_ at her as she walked to the refrigerator.

“Good morning aunties.” Sabrina rummaged through for a moment before deciding to go for a coffee instead and turned on the coffee pot sitting down opposite her Aunt Zelda who was staring at her above the Russian newspaper in her hand.

“Blessed morning, darling. How did you sleep?” Hilda spoke from the stove before breaking an egg in the skillet, smiling satisfactorily at the sizzle it made.

“Blissfully, I would presume, after having gotten the honour to dine with the High Priest last night.” Zelda smiled at her approvingly as she folded the paper. “Tell me, how was it?”

“Fairly normal I guess, as normal as it can with a bunch of children around.”

“Oh you mean the gutter orphans Lady Blackwood had been fostering. How charitable of her to take in those parentless witches like that.”

“They were all quite well behaved.”

“I hope you were well behaved as well. You were representing not just yourself but all of the Spellmans before the High Priest.”

“I guess so.”

“What do you mean you guess so?”

“I mean, I was well behaved, at least up until he asked me if I was satisfied with the results of my assessment.”

“Oh dear Satan, what did you say?”

“I wasn’t being rude or trying to be, I just told him that I was disappointed that he had not even tested me for Conjuring and Binding basics in the test.”

“Devil have mercy, can’t trust this child to do one thing right!” Zelda rolled her eyes before levelling a glare at her niece.

“Now, now, Zelds. Let’s not be quick to jump to conclusions. Let Sabrina finish.” Hilda patted her sister on her shoulder before she poured a cup of coffee for herself. “What did Father Blackwood say in return?”

“He gave me an Acheron to solve and said if I can do it he will allow me to take any class I wish to take.” Sabrina wanted to show a confident and proud front to her aunts for having bargained her way a second time, especially without another teacher backing her this time but she was still doubtful about the underlying motives of the headmaster in giving her the Acheron he himself had not been able to solve.

“Acherons are pesky little mechanisms.” Ambrose piped in, staring at his cousin in wonder about what was going on in her head.

“It can really play with your mind, Sabrina.” Zelda warned her, now intrigued with where this string of tests her child was being subjected to was going.

“I suppose, but Nick told me that my father built that particular Acheron as a part of his thesis.”

“That little blue pentagonal sphere?” Hilda gestured as if she was holding a ball in her hand and Sabrina nodded.

“I won’t call it little but yes it was blue, with knobs and dials.”

“Where is it then?”

“Well, after Black…” Zelda raised her eyebrows at Sabrina’s lack of manners making her stutter. “…Father Blackwood told me I could take Conjuring if I could solve it, Prudence asked if she could try and he said that even if both of us together could solve it he will grant us our wishes, so she monopolized it before I even got a chance to examine it.”

“Those wretched girls keep on playing with the last of my living nerves.” Zelda rubbed her forehead.

“Until I can get my hands on it, I doubt I can do much but I was hoping to see if there was something my father had written about it, considering he made it.” The two sisters shared a knowing look before Hilda went to sit by Sabrina’s side.

“Well, most of his journals and scholarly things from his office were donated to the council and are now kept in the Sanctum at the Academy if I am not mistaken.” Hilda looked up at her sister who nodded in acknowledgment. “But the things that were in their room when… they are all still there.” Hilda pulled a large ring of keys from the pocket of her apron and took a bulky ornate key off the ring before placing it before her. Sabrina could see the engravings on the key without picking it up and knew that they were made to protect the lock from being opened by any means other than this one key. It was kept in front of her but she did not dare to touch it as Hilda placed a plate of food before her. They all ate in silence, everyone glancing at the key kept next to Sabrina’s plate every now and then until Sabrina finished her food and excused herself from the table gingerly picking up the piece of metal and everyone watched her walk away.

 

Sabrina had seen this door, crossed it, plenty times each day. Her room had strategically been chosen to be just down the corridor from theirs and thus she looked at the forever closed door ever so often. For a while she had faced the dilemma of whether to ask her aunts for the key to that room just so that she could be closer to her parents or not to because that would have only elevated exponentially the feeling of their absence from her life, and now here she stood, the decision having been made for her somehow.

She took a deep breath and slid the key into a hole, turning it and pushing the door open, which it did surprisingly without any resistance considering this door was hardly ever opened. The first thing that hit her like bricks to her chest was the fact of how warmly lived in and how abruptly abandoned it looked. Her parents had not left the room with the intention of never returning to it and it showed in the clothes that hung from the wall hooks, the vanity still absentmindedly scattered and plundered from when her mother had probably hastily packed her toiletries, a half-empty jug of water on the nightstand and the bed made but with pillows that still held in the slight depressions from the heads that were once laid on them. Her aunts appeared to have placed a preservation spell on the room as not a speck of dust could be seen on any surface.

Sabrina found herself walking to the left side of the bed, her breath still caught in her throat and sat down. She looked at the nightstand where a well-worn book was kept along with a string of pearls, and she knew she was sitting the spot her mother must have so many times. She picked both of them up and felt tears beginning to trickle down her face as she regarded what was probably one of the last things her mother had touched in this house.

“Diana had been meaning to take that book to read on the flight.” She heard her aunt Hilda say from the doorway and Sabrina looked up to see that the lady stood gingerly toeing the threshold but not making a move to step in. “She remembered right as they were heading out so Edward told her to pick up another copy at the airport since this one was so battered anyway.” Hilda chuckled as she recalled the memories of that day. “Are you okay, my love?”

“I think so. I don’t really know what I should feel being in here.” Sabrina wiped her tears and stood up from her place before heading to the bookshelf that stood against the wall on her father’s side of the room.

“You don’t have to determine your feelings in one day, my child. How about you keep that key with yourself and come in here whenever you feel like?”

“Are you sure auntie?”

“Very much so. Satan only knows we should have given it to you a long time ago.” Hilda smiled. “Oh, I came here to get you because Roz is here.” Hilda remembered suddenly.

“I’ll be out there in just a minute, Auntie.” Sabrina smiled and Hilda left after giving her a tiny nod and closing the door behind her.

Sabrina thumbed through the overflowing shelves of the rack and came upon some unmarked spines that could have been her father’s personal journals. She began to pull them out before she saw a large tome of Demonicon and thought that it could come in handy for her upcoming classes and took it out as well. Balancing the books in her hands she left after giving the room one last glance, this time with a smile on her lips.

As she entered her room, she saw Roz sitting on her bed and she smiled to herself before placing her books on the table and joining her friend.

“Hey, Roz.” Sabrina took one of her hands and gave her a brief side hug. “How come you’re here so early?”

“I wanted to catch you before you started your journey back to Connecticut and I didn’t get a chance to ask you when exactly you leave yesterday. So I thought after breakfast is a safer time to catch you. Theo wanted to come too.”

“Oh… How's he? He got a nasty bruise.”

"Yeah, he got grounded for the weekend when he went home sporting a bruise so he couldn't come. We wanted to check on you, see if you’re okay. You stormed off so suddenly last night.”

“I was just upset. I know Theo was right and telling me would have hardly made a difference but it kind of hurt. Especially since Harvey also said something along the lines me leaving leading to such gaps in the group. I never wanted to make it seem like I had deserted you guys because I haven’t. You can still come to me with your issues.”

“We know that Brina.” Roz took both of her hands in hers and turned to face in the direction that seemed to be where Sabrina sat. “You’ve always been my sounding board, be it church mixer dates or talking me out of buying a horrible pair of heels.” Sabrina chuckled at the memories it evoked. “Brina, regardless, the fact remains that whatever be the situation, it will still take you around a day to be able to get here to help us in whichever way possible and none of us want to put that responsibility and stress on you anymore.”

“Roz…” Sabrina looked at the face of her best friend, the bushy curly black hair, the coke bottle glasses that she still insisted on wearing, and the disarming smile that was always on her face and realized this was as opportune a moment she would ever get. “I am not a six-hour drive away, I am not in Connecticut.”

“What do you mean?”

“Roz, I am a witch, and I go to school here in Greendale itself, at a special Academy for witches and warlocks.” Sabrina held her breath and looked at Roz as her forehead scrunched up in confusion and then realization. She looked down at her friend’s calloused hands in her own and relaxed when she did not immediately snatch them away.

“Oh.” Sabrina was surprised at the underwhelming response Roz gave and would have probably looked at her with confusion if Roz could still see her face. “What exactly does that mean?”

“It means that I am a devil worshipper and that in returned imbibes me with the power to do magic.” Sabrina closed her eyes in anticipation of the anger, considering that Roz belonged to a conservative Christian family led by her Priest of a father.

“Okay.” Roz shrugged and Sabrina’s eyes shot open.

“You don’t mind?”

“Well, it’s the same as being friends with someone from another religion.”

“But I am devoted to Satan, whom your religion abhors.”

“Well, some people believe that Muslims are our enemies just because we once fought wars with them. People, in general, are idiots. Besides, your God is still a part of my religion, whichever way it may be. Who you pray to will always be your personal choice Sabrina, and it should not and will not affect how I see you or well perceive you. But are you sure about the magic thing?”

“I am.” Sabrina chuckled as she squeezed Roz’s hands once before murmuring something that sounded like Latin to Roz. Suddenly Roz began flailing around as she floated a little above the surface of the bed and felt as if she was underwater.

“Roz, breathe, you’re not really underwater.” Sabrina grabbed her friend and held on tight. Roz inhaled deeply was surprised to find that she could breathe even though she could still feel water surrounding her skin. Sabrina quickly said the counterspell and Roz fell back down on the bed.

“Wow!” Roz said making Sabrina laugh. “You can do all that!”

“And much more.”

“Was this why you and Harvey fought?”

“Kind of.” Sabrina looked away for a minute and took a deep breath. “Roz are you really okay with this, with me?”

“Brina I have known you all my life. I know that you will never harm anybody with or without the magic and even if you ever use it on someone it will be in good faith. So why would I have any issues with who you are when you’re fundamentally the same best friend who has stood by me through my good times and bad times.” Sabrina had begun to cry earnestly a second time that day as she pulled Roz into a long tight hug.

“You don’t know how relaxed you have made me by saying that.” Sabrina sniffled as they broke apart. She wondered what it was that made her hard-core Christian best friend accept her more easily than the boy who claimed to love her before she shoved the thought out of her mind and decided that she was not going to dwell on it any further.

“So, now that I know all of this, can you do something witchy about Billy and his goons?” Roz asked.

“I do have something in mind. I will have to take some help but I think I can take care of those bullies.”

“Help? From other witches? Oh, is Nick one?”

“He’s a warlock yes, a very talented and powerful one.”

“Oooh, someone seems to have developed a little crush on someone.” Roz giggled.

“It’s not a crush. I just admire his abilities. Oh and Varun knows. So in case, you can’t get to me, you can ask Varun to try and get through to Nick and I’ll find out. The cell reception at the Academy is absolutely pathetic.”

“Varun knows? How come?”

“It’s a long story I will tell you some other time.”

“How do you talk to your family then, if the cell reception is so bad there?”

“Well, I have my witchboard with me, there’s a payphone at the Academy, or I can always send a fire message to them, it’s just like an instant messaging service. Ambrose gave me a special enchanted mirror that works like a two-way walkie talkie between us and Nick is mostly always around the Academy if I ever have to talk to him, so I hardly need my cellphone as regularly as before.” Sabrina looked at her friend curiously when she began sniggering behind her hand. “What?”

“I asked about your family and you ended up counting Nick in that list too. You sure you just admire him for his those ‘abilities’? Nick Scratch sounds like a sexy name and from what Theo has told me the sexiness of his name and voice matches that of his face too.”

“Shut up Roz.” Sabrina hit her friend on her shoulder making her laugh so loud that she fell back on the bed. Sabrina looked at her laughing friend and thanked the devil below for her good luck in friends.

 

Roz had left a little before lunch when her mother had come to pick her up and Sabrina had spent the moments leading up to lunch riffling through her father’s diaries, so engrossed in them that she had even decided to take one along with her to the kitchen when Hilda called her to eat, only to put it down when Zelda looked at her with disapproval. Though she had not found anything related to the Acheron in them, they were fascinating and also quite a bit emotional because she was learning of how her father was as a witch, the knowledge of which for the first time did not come from some else’s memories of him. After having read through a couple of them, she felt like her head was about to burst from the overload of information, and she sat back in her bed when her eyes fell on the book she had picked from her mother’s bedside table. She picked the hardbound book and opened it to find a heavily annotated copy of Pride and Prejudice. She cracked open the book to where she thought the bookmark was kept and a single folded sheet of paper fell out. She picked it up after putting the book aside and opened it to find a letter dated just a day before her parents’ untimely death.

_‘Our Dearest Ed & Diana,_

_Klaus has suddenly taken violently ill and we have postponed our plans by a day, hoping that his health will take a turn for better by tomorrow. We will still be in the Necropolis before your lecture begins, I assure you. We are looking forward to listening to you present your ideas before the unholy council and His Unholy Eminence. See you soon. Give all our love to Sabrina._

_Forever your faithful friends,_

_Art & Jade.’_

Sabrina sat up with start upon reading that letter before reading it again and again. She had never heard of any her parents’ friends, let alone of these people who knew about her. They seemed to have been close enough to her father that they were going to be there when he talked before the council in his meeting with the Antipope as her aunts had told her. She got up from her bed and decided to ask the only people who would know.

She found her aunts in their office having just finished a meeting with a set of grieving parents who were holding a funeral there later that week.

“Aunties, I was wondering…” Sabrina began as she closed the door behind her.

“Oh, what now?” Zelda said irritated as she tidied up the spread of coffin brochures on the table. “Your habit of daytime wondering is really getting out of hand now, child.” It was a taunt that Sabrina chose to ignore and instead went into the topic that was plaguing her mind.

“Did my parents have any friends? How come no one who knew them ever comes to visit?” Zelda began to say something out of annoyance but Hilda stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Your father had plenty of friends, of course. He was very famous even before he became the High Priest of the Church of Night. There was this one girl that Edward was quite close to from their days at the Academy if I am not mistaken. Her name is slipping from my mind at this moment. Do you remember her Hilda?” Zelda looked at her sister who visibly relaxed at the angle Zelda had chosen to take.

“Selene Beauchard, I think. When I went to England to help take care of Ambrose, Edward and Selene dropped by too. They were both studying at a mortal university in Paris at that time. She was equally enamoured by mortals just like your father.”

“Oh everyone thought they would end up together.” Hilda pursued her lips when the words tumbled out of her sister’s mouth. “But then, of course, Edward met Diana. I heard she married someone from a very old and well-known witch family. You know, I believe he was a Scratch too. I bet he was some distant relative of young Nicholas.” Sabrina brows drew at the connection and decided she would ask Nick about it later.

“Then why have I never met her?”

“By the time your parents married, he had lost touch with them I guess, considering we never heard of them from him. Not everyone was happy with your parents’ union, regardless of their soulmate status, so it came as no surprise. But why are you suddenly asking these questions?” Zelda raised her brows at her niece who did not answer for a few moments until suddenly her phone chimed from her pocket distracting her from her chain of thoughts.

“No particular reason.” Sabrina feigned and shrugged before quickly exiting the room and checking the message she had received.

_“When are you going to tell Theo? Do you need any help? – Roz.”_

Sabrina decided to push aside the ideas about her father’s probable long lost friends and concentrate on the ones she had and did not want to lose as she once again opened the door of her aunts’ office, chimed, “I am going out for a while,” and left without waiting for an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, honestly, the real story begins now. xD
> 
> I have crossed the 50k mark and I'm beyond happy because I haven't been able to finish NaNoWriMo ever and this just seems like a trial run for it that worked! So yay! And I know, not much Nick in this chapter. Literally nothing happened in this one and still, it was close to 7k. What I was planning for this chapter has not even begun yet but I did not want to make it a 10k chapter. What do you guys think about 10k chapters thought? I mean if no one minds I'm ready to keep my chapters intact and not break them up while posting them. In reality, the story so far would have been on chapter 7 or 8 if I followed my original chapter outlines.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. I ended up needing a mental health week which meant that I hardly wrote. I hope it's worth the wait.

Sabrina found herself at the porch of the same house a second time in less than twenty-four hours and hoped against hope that the Headmaster was not there before knocking. A giggling Dorcas opened the door with what seemed to be an unfinished doll in her hand that on close inspection looked like a possible replica of Sabrina if the white yarn on its head was any indication. Sabrina narrowed her eyes at Dorcas and she hid the doll behind her and gave her a fake smile.

“Nicky is at the academy with Father Blackwood.” Dorcas almost began to close the door on her face but Sabrina stopped it with a hand on the wood panel.

“I came to talk to Prudence.”

“Oh, about that Acheron. Come in then, I suppose.” Dorcas sighed and opened the door further to let her in. As Sabrina followed Dorcas in, she handed the poppet over to Alistair who stood in the kitchen doorway and began to continue sewing on it intently. Dorcas led her to what seemed like a waiting room for guests and told her to wait as she went on to fetch her sister.

Sabrina looked around the ornately decorated room and recognised what looked to be the touches of the lady of the house who admired the children she had taken in. In between polished brass lamps and priceless looking arts were drawing made by small children and some photographs of her and her kids. She stood before a shelf looking at a picture of Prudence hugging an older looking lady who was laughing, who Sabrina assumed was Lady Blackwood when the door opened.

Prudence walked in, flanked by her sisters just like she always was and stopped in her step when she saw the photo that Sabrina was standing before, a look of hurt and longing crossing her face before she schooled them into one of chaotic indifference.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence to this time Spellman?” Prudence stopped in the other end of the room from Sabrina in what looked like a Mexican standoff as neither sat down. “If you are here for the Acheron, then I am not giving it up till I am done with my chance on it. Father Blackwood may have told us to work on it together, but I do not want my superior powers being hindered by your inferior ones. Once I crack it open, you can ride on my coattails and claim your prize. You’re welcome to it.” Prudence said her piece and began to walk out when Sabrina rolled her eyes.

“I am not here for that. Though since you do mention it…” Sabrina said nonchalantly making Prudence falter in her step and look back at her.

“Then what are you here for?”

“There are four mortal boys that need to be taught a lesson and I will tell you all that I have found out about the Acheron that you never could.”

“How can there be something that you have learnt that I can’t be privy to?”

“You see Prudence, that particular configuration belonged to my father. He created it. And being a Spellman there is certain knowledge that I have that no one who isn’t a Spellman will be able to tell you.” Sabrina took a lazy step forward and stopped before the couch, tracing a light finger over the backrest.

“What is it?” Prudence stepped forward and sneered at Sabrina.

“You promise to help me with this and I will help you open that Acheron. If you agree then we have a deal.” Sabrina let her hand fall from their range of sight and crossed her fingers behind the back of the couch.

“Are they handsome atleast?” Dorcas asked with a chuckle.

“It’s always more fun when they are handsome.” Agatha chimed in and the two of them laughed menacingly.

“We will help you take care of these mortals, half-breed. But they are your enemies, you will have to do most of the work.” Prudence looked at Sabrina and she smiled, knowing well enough the extent she was ready to go to for her friends.

 

A few hours later while the weird sisters dressed her up in what they called “appropriate seductress outfit”, Sabrina was really having second thoughts about pulling these evil girls into this revenge plan. From the glee in Dorcas’s eyes, as she painted her face, she wondered if their revenge scheme had a phase one that was aimed at her, but then she couldn’t deny that the outcome was something she really liked.

“Ready, Spellman?” Prudence broke through Sabrina’s chain of thoughts while she was admiring herself for a little bit longer than she would admit to and she turned around to find the sisters dressed similar to her and looking every bit the reckoning that they were.

She and Agatha had broken into Baxter High a little earlier and found strands of hair in one of the boys’ locker to use for the locator spell that Prudence and Dorcas had set up in their room in the meantime. Sabrina was afraid to bump into Nick or the children in this avatar as they stepped out of the room but her eyes unknowingly wandered around looking for the one person she was hoping no to see considering she had no cover story prepared for it. Thankfully, there seemed to be no one around when they exited the house and teleported together, with their fingers linked, the moment their feet hit the dirt.

When the four of them emerged out of the shadows of the forest on the edge of the department store Prudence had tracked the boys down to, she saw the overhead lights flickering and looked sideways to see Agatha twirling her fingers in the air with a cheeky grin. These three loved their entrances - Sabrina thought to herself and chuckled. One of the boys pointed at the girls and the rest of them turned to look, though already thoroughly peeved by the small light show, yet acted as if they were looking at their night’s meal, little did they know that it was the other way around.

“Hello, boys.” Sabrina stepped forward and spoke, taking on the sultry intonations she had noticed Prudence using around the boys at the Academy who without fail fell to her charm and Prudence looked on with a bit of pride on her face.

“Well, if it isn’t Sabrina Spellman.” Billy Marlin spoke and Sabrina desperately wanted to just break his nose but restrained herself. “I heard you moved to a different state to go to a posh school. That place seems to have done you good.” He let his eyes rove up and down her body and his friends cackled behind him.

“I came back for the weekend, with some friends.” Sabrina gestured to the girls standing a step behind her as Agatha waved to one of the guys who without wanting to waved back. “The four of us were thinking of having a little party in the mines. But we will need beer and boys for that.”

“I’m surprised you came to us, instead of those loser friends of yours.” Clark said from the back and received a hi-five in praise of his lowly comment from his friend.

“Well, as you can see, this is not the kind of party they would be much fun at.” Sabrina lazily cocked her head and twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

“Now are you guys in or not? We would rather go find someone else than wait for your dilly-dallying.” Prudence kept a hand on Sabrina’s shoulder as she came forward and spoke to the boys. She grazed the back of her finger across Sabrina’s cheek making the blonde girl look up at her and smile softly. As the girls began to walk backward, the boys followed like they were on a leash and just like that the boys had caught the bait.

“Do you guys go to the same school as Spellman?” One of the boys tried to break the eerie silence as the girls led them deep into the forest towards the abandoned mines.

“We do.” Agatha snarled back.

“Where is it?” Someone else asked.

“You wouldn’t know it, it’s a very special school.” Prudence answered making the rest of the girls giggle.

“Very special, no boys allowed.” Dorcas turned around to pipe in before linking arms with Agatha as they lead the front. The boys laughed in response and Sabrina bit her lip as she exchanged a conspiratory glance with Prudence.

“Do you know what they call this place?” Sabrina said to Prudence loud enough for everyone else to catch as they stopped in front of the darkened entrance of the mines. “The Devil’s Doorway. They say that the mines run so deep that one of the shafts takes you all the way to hell.” Sabrina spoke cheerily getting excited ‘oohs’ from the girls in response and scared gulps of breaths from the boys.

“I am not sure about this, man. This is starting to feel really freaky.” One of the boys leaned forward to speak in Billy’s ear but in the silence of the night, it was fairly audible to them all.

“Now boys.” Sabrina turned around to admonish them. “Don’t go getting scared on us.”

“I just don’t want to break my neck tripping in the dark.” Billy tried to laugh and failed.

“There are lamps inside the tunnel, I think.” Agatha feigned looking in as she sneakily snapped her fingers and a faint line of light emerged from the doorway before taking Dorcas’s hand and leading her in.

“Maybe they’re scared.” Prudence played with the hair at Sabrina’s nape and she closed her eyes for a second in pleasure. “Maybe they’re just scared little boys. I guess we should just have this party amongst ourselves.” Prudence reached down to take Sabrina’s hand and guide her in while the eerie sound of their giggles echoed through the mines as they disappeared into the dark. The boys gulped down their fears and followed them in.

“I think we are almost there.” Dorcas spoke wonderingly as she twirled in her step like she was in a gorgeous meadow basking in daylight instead of the dark mines underneath the town.

“Where?” One of the boys asked meekly.

“The Devil’s Lair.” Sabrina said cheerily enough to spook the boys even further and she spied one of them worriedly asking the other whether she was serious.

“You know what we forgot?” Agatha asked rhetorically as they stopped in a wide alcove and set down the lanterns they were carrying. “Music. We can’t have a party without music.” She said sadly.

“Wait. I hear something. Listen.” Prudence said as she closed her eyes concentrating deeply and slowly a melodious sound began echoing down the corridor towards them.

“This is so messed up.” Clark said while the boys put down the bottles of beer they had been lugging around.

“I love this song.” Agatha smiled and the girls echoed the sentiment while the boys whispered amongst themselves.

“It’s so hot in here.” Prudence stepped forward as she slowly unbuttoned her dress and went to stand before Billy Marlin while the other two sisters chose their own victims. “Probably because we are so close to him.”

“Who?” The boy who stood before Dorcas spoke.

“You know who.” Prudence looked disapprovingly at him and his lack of knowledge. He tried to pull Bill back but he shrugged the hand away and began to take off his jacket as Prudence slid her dress off her shoulders.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and went for the lone boy standing in the back, probably planning to run for his life but still hanging on from peer pressure and began to take her dress off as she smiled at him softly and he immediately took off the sweater he was wearing. The girls jumped onto the boys the moment all the clothes were off. In the frenzy Prudence and Sabrina shared a look, Sabrina’s eyes for a second glancing over the black flower high on Prudence’s arm, and with a soft blow of air the lanterns flickered off plunging the alcove into darkness, not that any of the boys noticed. The girls launched themselves on their boys hungrily and the boys responded in kind, driven by the feel of skin and mouth that was enhanced with the loss of a sense when suddenly the lights flickered on and the giggles of the girls’ echoes through the chamber but from a far off distance.

“Don’t they look so adorable.” Prudence looked at the boys, bored. “You should take a picture.”

“I had the same idea.” Sabrina said as she pulled out her phone and looked at the boys making out in pairs amongst themselves, a mess of lanky limbs and pale skin. “Smile boys.” As the camera flash ignited through the small area, the trance that boys were in broke and they pushed each other away with childish shrieks.

“You bitches are going to regret this.” Billy Marlin stepped forward attempting to look threatening but failing to courtesy of his tighty-whities, ankle socks and pale scared face.

“We are not, but you are. If you bother any of my friends or any girl at the school for that matter, these pictures will be all anyone will talk about at Baxter High for ages.” Sabrina waved her phone around with a challenging smile.

“Let’s get out of here.” Clark said from behind.

“No, no one is going anywhere, until this bitch gives me that phone.” Billy made a move towards Sabrina but he could hardly take a step forward before Prudence stalked ahead towards him, scaring him into backing down.

“No, no, no, no one is going anywhere really, because we are not done playing yet.” Prudence spun around to give Sabrina cheeky wink making her roll her eyes.

“Prudence…” Sabrina chastised her friend but she didn’t turn around to face her. “Oh fine.” Sabrina sighed and sat down on a nearby boulder looking bored. “As long as no one gets killed or maimed or turned into a vegetable or an animal or anything inanimate, do whatever pleases your black hearts.” Sabrina shook her head and took out her phone again to pass her time, earning giggles from Agatha and Dorcas in response as they walked forward too, scaring the boys behind Billy who stood rooted in his spot enthralled by Prudence’s eyes and also a little bit of magic.

“You’ll like this next game.” Prudence snarled at the boys as she stalked forward like a lioness on the hunt. “It’s called Devil in the Dark.” She snapped her fingers and the lanterns went off again. Sabrina rolled her eyes and lit the flame on the tip of her finger with a snap and saw the girls converging on the boys with ghastly faces glamoured over their own.

“It’s dark, if we can’t see them, they can’t see us.” One of the boys eked out optimistically but sounded more like a pipsqueak.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Sabrina could see Prudence rake an overly long nail over his bare shoulders and couldn’t help but giggle along with the girls, as she decided to click more pictures.

The boys screamed and screamed as they gathered whatever clothes they could find and ran out of there, stumbling over their own feet, still screaming. Prudence walked to Sabrina as Agatha and Dorcas picked the abandoned beer bottles and joined the other two.

“Was that really necessary?” Sabrina had a bored note in her voice as she sat back on the boulder she had claimed, the four lanterns making their shadows dance beautifully on the cave walls once again.

“It was fun.” Prudence said placing an ornate cage with four canaries next to Sabrina, which she had not noticed till now.

“What’s this?” Sabrina picked the cage up and looked at the birds that sat twittering inside their prison.

“Souvenirs from tonight.” Agatha said as she passed one of the bottles of beer to Sabrina and sat down at Prudence’s feet below her perch on a high boulder across from Sabrina while the former looked at them confused.

“We took their boyhoods. Until you release the birds, those boys won’t be _rising_ to any occasions.” Prudence sniggered at her own pun and tipped her own bottle towards her in a gesture of acknowledgment.

 “Few weeks of impotence might teach them better manners.” Dorcas shrugged and sat down next to Sabrina, her feet playing footsie with Agatha’s outstretched ones.

“You could have told me about the plan.” Sabrina opened her bottle of beer and took a long soothing swig. “Or at the least given me a heads up.”

“We didn’t think you would agree. But perhaps we were wrong.” Prudence shrugged. “I do see now what Nicholas sees in you. We could be good friends if you come to think of it.”

“Uh, about that…”

“Save your breath, half-mortal. I know you lied. You’re a terrible liar.”

“Then why did you agree to help me?”

“We don’t need a reason to torment mortal boys.” Dorcas piped in making them laugh.

“Because I do know that there was some truth in whatever you said about the Acheron. After today, I am quite okay with working alongside you in trying to solve that, if only to show Father Blackwood that he underestimates us.”

“I will drink to that.” Sabrina raised her bottle and so did the other three as they drank and Sabrina played some music on her phone. Dorcas shrieked in excitement as she jumped up and pulled Agatha to her feet and the two girls danced under the fire of the lanterns. Prudence smiled at her sisters and climbed down from her perch to take the spot Dorcas had vacated next to Sabrina.

“Though, I’m surprised you didn’t ask Nick to take care of this. You guys joined at the hip most of the time.”

“He had a personal stake in this fight; I didn’t want him throwing punches when we could have dealt with this without anyone getting hurt, much. Also, I’m pretty sure those boys can’t be seduced by Nick’s charm.” Sabrina shrugged making Prudence a laugh as they watched the other two girls twirl around on a slow song.

“That, I agree with.” Prudence clanked her bottle with Sabrina’s and the two girls emptied the bottles in their hands before picking up more considering they hardly had a shortage of them.

 

Sabrina was surprised that she woke up feeling fresh and not hungover when her alarm rang the next morning and wondered for a second if she had Prudence to thank for it. She waved her hand and the radio began playing her favourite song as she shot a message to Roz telling her that Billy Marlin had been dealt with. Getting ready that morning, she felt better than she had in a very long time. As she stood before the large mirror and checked out the third and final outfit she had settled on, her eyes fell on Harvey’s necklace that regardless of the status of their relationship she had religiously worn, until now. Taking a deep breath she unclasped it and reached forward to place it in the bottom of her dresser when her eyes fell on the pearls she had found in her parents’ room on top of it. With a smile and a look of contentment on her face, she put the necklace on and gave herself a once over before heading out of the door.

“I heard you were up to no good last night.” She heard him say even before his face came in her peripheral vision as Nick ran up to her while she walked down to her first Demonology class of the semester. His eyes fell on the string of pearls around her neck that she was absentmindedly playing with in place of the necklace she always wore was missing but avoided mentioning it.

“Good morning Nick.” Sabrina said, with the large grin plastered on her face getting wider.

“Morning Sabrina. Someone seems cheery today. I guess your last night’s shenanigans were a success.”

“You assume right, Mr. Scratch. But I guess you’ve already heard about all of it from Pru.”

“Pru wasn’t the one who told me.”

“Then?”

“Next time you’re planning something within the four walls of the Orphanage, put some protective spells up. The kids are too nosy for their own good.”

“And for yours.”

“In this case.” Nick shrugged as he opened the door and entered the lecture hall behind Sabrina. “Now tell me where you went last night, looking like Lilith incarnate.” He whispered to her as they sat down next to each other on an empty bench at the front of the half-empty classroom.

“Just up to some usual mischief, and do thank the kids for that high praise.”

“I would if these were their words. I saw you guys leaving last night, looking like doom had ascended.”

“You did?” Sabrina’s eyes got large as she looked at the cheeky grin on Nick’s face and she wondered how she had looked the night before from his eyes, though they had pictures of the four of them from the night before, she wondered if he saw in her something the camera hadn’t been able to capture. But she was unable to say anything as the classroom fell silent to the click-clack of high heels descending down the aisle. “I’ll tell you later.” Sabrina whispered to him quickly as Ms. Wardwell came and stood before them, leaning slightly on the table kept in the front of the class.

“I see Ms. Spellman has finally made it to where she wanted to be.” Mary smiled before perching herself on the table. “I am glad. Well then, we should get started. Today I want to teach you little imps about capturing demons. While this is a part of the curriculum for the Binding Studies students, there is a bit that I would like you, children, to know too.” She said as she picked up the book placed behind her that Sabrina recognised as the Demonicon and beamed with pride as she pulled out her father’s copy from her bag. “Demons are of different strengths, getting stronger the closer they are to the Dark Lord and higher they are in the hierarchy of Hell.” Mary had a cheekily smile on her face as she made subtle mentions of herself and watched the children hang on to each of her words. “Now if you were to try and capture any lesser demon, say a Succubus, it wouldn’t be much of a problem and neither would it require an elaborate vessel, but if you were to capture a greater demon like maybe Paimon or Asmodeus, nothing short of an Acheron would be able to hold them. Better still, a human body, because there is no stronger vessel than that of the living body of a human to be turned into a prison for a greater demon. To be able to identify the demons in the split seconds before you can attempt to bind them, if you’re not the one who has summoned it, you will have to have your Malleus Maleficarum on the tips of your fingers.” Sabrina found herself mesmerized by everything Ms. Wardwell said and before she knew it, the bell had rung and the class had been dismissed. As Nick got up to put his books in his bag, Sabrina approached the teacher who was still lingering over her books and papers.

“Yes, Sabrina?” She said looking up at the hesitant young witch.

“Ms. Wardwell, I wanted to ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead. I hope the class was up to the expectations you fought so hard for.”

“It was. It was more than what I imagined and I am happy that I got to sit for it now instead of a semester later.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” Mary smiled and placed a hand over her shoulder.

“I wanted to ask if you know anything about solving Acherons.”

“Opening them, you mean? Well, I’d hardly wish for you to go around opening strange mechanisms like that.”

“But if one did…”

“Well, the trick that I learnt with Acherons during my youth was that it works less with what you see.” Mary winked at her young student and Sabrina’s forehead scrunched up in further confusion. “Now, run along, your boy is waiting for you.” Mary cocked her head towards the door where Nick stood waiting for her patiently. “And remember Sabrina, before you open something, think about why it was closed in the first place, and whether it should remain like that. Read through your Demonicon before you go chasing demons bound in vessels.” Sabrina looked at her teacher in further confusion before nodding and heading out to join Nick.

“What are you thinking?” Nick asked they walked out of the class and he saw the look of confusion and the lack of attention that she paid to the students around her making him have to steer her away from the incoming crowd.

“I asked Ms. Wardwell about the Acheron but whatever she said made absolutely no sense.” Sabrina scrunched up her forehead replaying Wardwell’s words in her head when Nick stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Well, I doubt a Demonology teacher would know much about Acherons. A Binder might, but Demonology is not a science. Think about all this later. It’s time for your Sacred Geometry class.” Nick pointed to the doorway they now stood before and Sabrina looked around in surprise wondering how she had reached there. “I’ll see you at lunch.” Nick chuckled and walked away.

 

Sabrina looked around the dining hall for Nick but upon not finding him anywhere she sat down on an empty table, pulling out her copy of the Demonology textbook. She was lost in interesting observations her father had jotted down in the margins of the text when a leather notebook was placed on top of her book, jolting her out of her concentration. She looked up to find Nick sitting down on the stop next to her with a smile on his face.

“What is this?” Sabrina picked the notebook up and looked at it.

“That is your father’s journal, well one of them.” Nick said in a hushed voice and pushed her hand under the table to indicate that she should put it away which she promptly did. “This has to be our little secret, okay.”

“I thought you said…”

“I said I couldn’t sneak you in. I never said I couldn’t sneak this out.” Nick gave her her favourite half-smile and she smiled back at him. “I hope this can help you solve the Acheron, but even if it doesn’t, you should get to know your father.”

“Thank you Nick.”

“Anytime Spellman.” Nick looked in her eyes and after a long while saw them sparkle with the same joy he used to find when he saw her laughing from across the corridor back at Baxter High. To him, it felt like she was finally feeling at home at the Academy, and he was happy to play the role that her friends used to. Sabrina realized that her smile in the longest time she had known was unburdened and regardless of all the mysteries that surrounded her and all the quests she had to power through, this boy was somehow the reason for it.

“Nicholas, Sabrina.” Prudence’s happy chime broke through their thoughts and they found the three weird sisters standing before them with their food in hand. Prudence sat down across from Sabrina and the other two followed suit while Nick gave Sabrina a questioning look to which she responded with a shrug. Prudence began to silently eat her food while Sabrina wondered when they had reached the lunch buddy status.

“Spellman…” Prudence said in a way of an acknowledgement as she stabbed at her beans and Sabrina eyed her cautiously. Prudence put her utensils down and reached down under the table coming up with the Acheron in her hand. “I guess it’s time you took your shot at it.” Prudence placed the configuration before Sabrina and went back to her food. Sabrina picked it up and looked through one of the scopes at the patterns it made, and slowly felt herself falling into a deep chasm as the patterns ebbed and flowed into different ones.

Nick shook her by her arm, jolting her out of the trappings of the puzzle. “I am going to head out. I have a few things to finish before I head home on Wednesday.” Nick gave Sabrina a cheeky wink before walking away.

“What did he mean by going home on Wednesday?” Sabrina asked Prudence, putting the Acheron down.

“Nick always goes back to his own church and coven for the unholy days. And since he is going to be here during Solstice because of the play, he asked Father Blackwood’s permission to spend the whole Feast weekend at home.”

“He never talks about home or his family.”

“That is because he doesn’t have a family. He lost his parents at a very young age. He was barely as old as Charlie is now, I think.” Dorcas spoke up in wonderment and Sabrina suddenly realized the reason for Nick’s attachment to the little boy.

 

Before Sabrina knew it, she was roaming the halls of the Academy looking for Nick. She wondered if there was a better way of finding him than this aimless wandering when she heard his voice ring out from an open classroom door. She walked closer and stood in the doorway watching.

“Your conjurations will be worthless if your circle isn’t able to bind the demon you conjure, which means that your sacred geometry has to be as precise and perfect as possible. Now Professor Lovecraft left me with some worksheet for you guys. I want you to consider what markings would go into your circle if you were to summon Shax. You have twenty minutes.” Nick looked at his watch and looked up to see the student body before him, many of which were boys, furiously flipping through the texts in front of them, when his eyes fell on the blonde looking into the class from the entrance.

“I didn’t think you as a teacher would look so…” Sabrina tapped her chin in search of the correct word as Nick walked out of the classroom and closed the door behind him.

“Sexy?” Nick prompted eliciting a chuckle.

"Old." Sabrina countered with a smirk.

“Brother Lovecraft has taken the whole week off and there’s only so many self-study sessions I can give them before they decide to blow up the classroom in the name of experimentation.”

“You’d make a good teacher.”

“I am sure you’re not here just to compliment me on my command of a classroom.”

“I was just checking to see if I could find you free. I still have to tell you about last night and you’re leaving in two days, so I…” Sabrina trailed off, realizing that she didn’t exactly have a reason to be looking for Nick.

“Meet me in the library in half an hour?” Nick suggested. “I don’t have much left to do in this class. I’ll wrap it up and see you there.” Sabrina nodded in agreement and walked away, looking back to see Nick slip back into the classroom.

Sabrina was reading through a section on sleep demons in her new favourite book of Demonology considering her father’s running commentary made the book far better when she felt a dip in the sofa she had grabbed in their usual corner of the library. She looked up to see Nick sprawled next to her with his arm drawn across his eyes. He lay like that for a while and Sabrina went back to her book.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.” Nick finally spoke looking up at her but she just shrugged in response as she closed her book, not having realized when more an hour had passed. “Father Blackwood sent me on an errand after the class was done.” He sat up rolling his neck to get a chink out.

“Father Blackwood seems to have piled on a lot of work on you this week.”

“Yeah, well that’s what I get in exchange for getting to spend half the week at home.”

“I haven’t heard you talking about family or home much.”

“That is because I don’t have much left in way of a family – a familiar and a great great grand aunt who is more than six centuries old. But that’s all I have left and I prefer spending holidays with them.”

“Your parents…? Dorcas told me you lost them when you were barely ten.” Sabrina gave his shoulder a squeeze when she saw his let out a deep sigh.

“They died in a car accident. I was ten I think. I was raised by my familiar after that till I came to Greendale to study under Father Blackwood.”

“Raised by your familiar?”

“Amalia. She is a werewolf and a lot more capable than a normal goblin. Aunt Agatha was there too but she is close to 660 years old and prefers her solitary lifestyle. I had a house and a familiar to take care of me and it never felt like I was lacking anything still I often miss them during holidays.”

“What were your parents’ names?” Sabrina asked curiously.

“Selene and Arthur Scratch, why do you ask?”

“I heard from my aunts that my father had a close friend named Selene Beauchard who married a Scratch.”

“That’s my mother. But I never heard them mention your parents. I would remember if they ever had. There were a few books in the house that were written by your father but I always thought they were there just because my father was interested in Conjuring Science.”

“So you’re saying that our parents were friends, atleast my father and your mother were but we have somehow never heard about each other’s family. Arthur Scratch…” Sabrina tried to recollect what it was that was nagging in the back of her mind. “Do you know anyone by the name of Jade?”

“My mother’s nickname was Jade. As far as I can remember everyone called her that. How do you know that?”

“I need to show you something.” Sabrina riffled through her father’s Demonicon and pulled out the letter that she had read more than a dozen times already and gave it to him. Nick read through it a few times, his brows furrowing, his eyes roving over the words like he was trying to read something that wasn’t there.

“This is written by my father. It talks about me… see he refers to Klaus over here.” Nick pointed to the very first line and Sabrina nodded without really looking, she had already memorized the whole letter. “My father had a thing for nicknames. He used to call me Klaus as in Santa Claus as an inside family joke. It’s a wonder he used that name in a letter to someone who wasn’t a Scratch.”

“Aunt Zee said that most of my father’s friends had stopped talking to him after his marriage. But this letter is dated after I was born. They talk about me also in this letter. Our parents were supposed to fly to the Vatican together.”

“Sabrina, this doesn’t make any sense. I was not sick at this time. I remember very well that I hardly ever fell sick. On the contrary, I remember my mother was quite unwell for more than a few years, though her health had recovered immensely around a year before the accident. They were also on their way to the Vatican to meet with the Council for something.”

“Are you sure you weren’t sick. You were barely nine, maybe you don’t remember it.”

“Sabrina I’ve never been sick enough to stop my parents from travelling. And this is a day after the Equinox so I was most probably in the Unholy Lands at Aunt Agatha’s house with Amalia. I used to go every year, up until my parents’ accident. I remember when I came back my mother was feeling a lot better but both of my parents’ spirits were down for a long time. I was confused because the change in my mother’s health should have made them happier but…”

“I think they were upset about the death of my parents. If they were as good friends as it seems from this letter and what my aunts told me, maybe the joy over the betterment of your mother’s health was overshadowed by their sorrow.”

“Or maybe guilt.” Nick dropped the letter in Sabrina’s lap and held his head in his hands.

“Why do you say that?” Sabrina looked at him, puzzled and pulled his hand away from his face making him face her.

“They lie to your parents about my wellbeing, push their plans ahead and then your parents’ flight crashes. It just doesn’t sound like a coincidence to me.”

“Are you saying they knew that my parents will die on that flight? How could they? It was an unforeseeable accident. You thinking that they knew of the crash the day before means that it wasn’t an accident and I honestly don’t know how to take that.”

“I don’t know what to think Sabrina.” Nick couldn’t look into her eyes anymore, wondering why his parents would make such an excuse. They were not even trying to cancel the plan, they were just making sure that the Spellmans travelled without them, and then they die… Nick couldn’t help but wonder if his parents had anything to do with it.

“Nick, we don’t know the facts. You can’t let this one letter change what you think of your parents.”

“But Sabrina…”

“No.” Sabrina looked at him sternly. “I found some of my father’s personal journals in his room over the weekend. I’ll try to find out more about his relationship with your mother. I am not letting you put any blame on your parents before we know the whole truth. Do you understand me?” Nick nodded but could not manage to look up at her. He continued to look at her fingers enclosed over his wrist less than a few inches away from where his soul mark was and dread pooled in his stomach. Here he was, infatuated by this girl who was very possibly his soulmate and he finds out that his dead parents could have something to do with the death of hers. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at the cruelty of fate or cry.

“Aunt Agatha, huh, that must make it so awkward for you at the Orphanage.” Sabrina gave a tight smile in an attempt to make Nick feel better but the warlock before her was lost in his own thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was so much more that was supposed to be in this chapter but I wanted to get this out at least as soon as I could. I'll try to post the next chapter sooner. What do you think about this idea of the Scratches knowing the Spellmans.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I have been gone so long, and whatever this chapter is it did not warrant two months of hiatus. I'm sorry. The chapter might feel stunted or out of character because it truly took me two months to write it and I'm very rusted (all the future bits that I had not written down while planning have gone kaput from my mind and I have been trying to retrace my steps with them this past week, though it's seeming difficult) but I am trying to get back into the groove because this story deserves to be finished and you guys, especially the ones who left comments over the past two months, deserve it. Thank you for not losing faith.

“Roz…” Theo hurried inside Cee’s taking a full breath only when he noticed his friend sitting in the booth, her hands enclosed over a glass of milkshake. Things were for some reason haphazardly scattered between the four friends and Theo didn’t like that one bit. He remembered the time that the four of them would spend the weekends hanging out together and then meet again at school on Monday morning but now it had been almost two days since he had last seen Roz and he had no idea why she would have missed school only to call him in the evening to meet at Cee’s.

“Oh thank God Theo, you’re here.” Roz’s face that had been a little pale lit up at the voice of her friend. She raised her hand and Theo sat down opposite her, taking it.

“Are you okay? Why didn’t you tell me you were missing school today?”

“I had an appointment with an optometrist today.” The nervousness with which Roz fiddled with his fingers scared Theo and he took both her hands in his and held them steady.

“What did the doctor say?”

“He… uh… we need to wait…”

“Roz?” The slight hesitation in the voice was so unlike Harvey that even though Theo recognized the sound he turned around to look. Harvey’s face was sallow and between the three of them, it looked like somebody had died.

“Harvey, you came!” Harvey slid into the booth next to a happier Roz while Theo, on the other hand, could not decide how to broach the topic of what he wanted to say.

“Theo, I am sorry.” Harvey began as he grabbed the hands of Roz and Theo that were clenched together over the table. “I can’t say I didn’t know what I was doing, because I did. I had this anger taking over my head and I lashed out with it in the worst possible way. My reasons maybe came from a better place but that’s no excuse. I just need to say I am sorry.” Theo smiled back at his friend and began to say something that was cut short by Harvey continuing his spiel. “I know I need to apologize to Varun too, and I will as soon as my suspension ends I will apologize to him in school. I know what he means to you.” Theo tried his best not to blush but the redness creeping over his cheeks made Harvey laugh heartily like a weight was lifted off his chest.

“Okay, coming back to why we were both summoned here. Roz…”

“Oh yes… Roz, you sounded pretty low on the phone. What happened?”

“I had another checkup, with a new specialist my parents found somehow. He said there’s a new form of surgery that can restore my sight.” Roz had her lips pursed and glint of tears in her eyes.

“Roz this is great news!” Theo gave her hand a tight squeeze yet wondered why she was not as happy as he thought she should be.

“I don’t want my parents to get their hopes up again. I’ve gone through so many treatments and plans over the last two years. So many things that have failed. They keep on telling me have faith in God but I can’t help but feel like this will be another disappointment.”

“Roz you need to stay positive about this. Maybe this will work.” Harvey put a hand on her shoulder in support.

“Harvey is right, Roz. It might work this time.”

“I hope it does… I really do.”

“When is the surgery?”

“Over the weekend, after Thanksgiving.”

“We are going to be there with you throughout. Everything will be fine.” Harvey gave Roz a gentle half hug as tears fell down her cheeks, and Theo gave a tight smile that he desperately wished Roz could see.

 

Zelda sat on the sofa in the teacher’s lounge, a cup of hot tea and her annotated copy of the script in hand. She had about an hour before classes for that day ended and the students would begin to file into the desecrated church for play practice. Considering they barely had four weeks left to go and they were not even done with the first run-through of the script, Zelda was very obviously at her wits end, so it was no surprise that the empty teacher’s lounge came as a much-desired relief when she had walked in which was why she was now tucked in the corner of the sofa with her legs pulled underneath, something she wouldn’t do in a million years if there was someone else in the space with her. She was hoping that no other professor walked in just when the door opened and Zelda uncharacteristically cursed under her breath.

She looked up to see Mary Wardwell saunter in and make her way to the coffee machine. Zelda kept a watch on the other witch from the corner of her eyes, her ears raised, all her nerves tuned in to her movements for some unknown reason as she unfolded herself from the sofa and sat more formally. But the only sounds were that of Wardwell preparing a cup of coffee for herself on the confusing contraption she had only recently mastered the mortal-style usage of.

“How was my niece’s first day in the advanced classes?” Zelda spoke up, breaking the silence that was dragging on uncomfortably.

“Oh… Sabrina?” Wardwell turned back to see the redhead witch perched on the sofa like a proud feline in her own right. “She fit right in. I believe she had a lot more fun in my class today than she did in those Latin and Ancient Languages classes over the past weeks. No offense meant.”

“None taken.” Zelda waved it off as she gathered her things and made space for Mary to take the other end of the couch. “I’m happy she got where she wanted to. Thank you, Mary, for helping her convince Father Blackwood, in the first place.” It took Wardwell a little while to accept that the witch in front of her whom she only knew by repute as a formidable stone-cold witch from all the accounts that she had heard floating around the Academy look genuinely concerned for her niece and genuinely thankful to her. Zelda picked up her things and decided to head to the desecrated church prematurely, giving her fellow witch a curt respectful nod.

“It was my pleasure to help her.” Wardwell spoke before the elder Spellman witch could step out of the room making her stop for a moment before continuing her way out.

 

“Nick and Sabrina, on the stage.” Zelda hurriedly ordered the moment Nick finally walked into the church for practice. “I want you two to start with Lilith and Lucifer’s first meeting in the wastelands. Agatha if you don’t mind, I need my Stolas.” She looked over to where her two leads stood, still not heeding her instructions, while Sabrina looked at Nick with a worried expression, Nick avoided her gaze. “Get a move on it then.”

Nick hesitantly walked on to the stage with Sabrina following behind him and taking her spot beside Agatha.

While Agatha spoke her dialogue Sabrina had her eyes trained on Nick who was doing his best to look everywhere but at her. Sabrina was so lost in her thought that she had to be prodded to say her lines by Agatha ones she finished.

“Oh Stolas, the garden was my rightful home but I’ve been cast out for refusing to lie beneath Adam and kneel before the false God. Two things I will never do.” Sabrina was sure this was the worst that she had ever acted, stuttering through the sentences and thoroughly distracted. She looked up from her script to see Nick walk closer to them like the scene demanded and look down at his script as he said his dialogues, as equally stunted as Sabrina was.

“Nicholas, what’s wrong with you, young man? You need to put more confidence in that dialogue, more conviction. You need to be able to convince not just Lilith but also the audience of what you are giving her is the truth. And please look her in the eye for Hell’s sake.” Zelda was on the verge of losing it on those two.

“I am Lucifer. Once I was called Morningstar. We have a...” As Nick spoke his conversation with Sabrina earlier that day rang through his head and the moment he raised his head to look her in the eye he felt his breath caught in his throat and all the guilt he logically knew not to feel overpowering his senses. “I’m sorry, I need to go.” He murmured before he stepped off the stage to pick his bag and teleported out before anyone could even react.

“What is that boy even thinking?” Zelda threw the script on the floor before rubbing her forehead in consternation.

“I’m going to go check on him.” Sabrina said to no one in particular before picking up her bag and stepping off to teleport away but Zelda grabbed her by her forearm before she could.

“No, you’re not. I am not letting both my main actors just whoosh away whenever they wish to. Up you go and start on the wastelands scene with Agatha.” Zelda gave her niece a firm look and pushed her back on the stage.

It was almost nightfall when Zelda finally relaxed her eagle eye watch on Sabrina and her search for Nick around the Academy and at the Orphanage led to absolutely nothing. By the time she got back to the dormitory, she had come to the realisation that Nick didn’t want her to find him.

As she fell on to her bed, her hand hit the Acheron peeking out of her schoolbag. She picked the puzzle up with a dejected sigh and no motivation to get working on it. She just curled up around it, fell asleep within seconds.

 

When Theo led Roz to the lunch table, he was surprised to find Harvey sitting and chatting with Varun amicably.

“Harvey…” Theo said in surprise making the two boys look up.

“Harvey? You’re back?” Roz moved her head indicatively as the boy in question took her arm and guided her to the spot next to him.

“I came in the morning to apologize to Principal Hawthorne, then called in Varun and I apologized to him in front of Hawthorne, so looking at the fact that this was my first transgression and that I took the initiative to come and apologize he withdrew my suspension and let me go with a warning.”

“That’s surprisingly sweet of that douche. I guess everyone’s in the Thanksgiving spirit.” Theo raised his brows as he made his remark making his friends laugh. “I’m going to go and get us some food, Roz.” Theo said before leaving the table.

“Roz, Theo told me about your surgery after Thanksgiving. I want you to know that I am here too, for anything you might need.” Varun took Roz’s hand over the table and gave it a squeeze before pulling back.

“Thank you, Varun. That reminds me, could you get a word to Sabrina about it? I texted her yesterday but she said the network at her Academy is bad so if I need to talk to her, you can get a message to her through Nick.”

“Will do.”

“Uh… is she coming home over Thanksgiving?” Harvey asked hesitantly feeling for information he was sure the others knew.

“Obviously she would be. Besides it’s not like she’s too far away.” Roz said confirming that she did know the secrets that Harvey thought only he was privy to.

“She’s in Connecticut.” Harvey emphasized.

“Obviously she is not, Harvey.”

“Sabrina is not in Connecticut?” Theo came to a halt before their table.

“Uh… Theo…” Varun attempted to do some damage control.

“She is not in Connecticut. She is at a private academy nearby. She wanted to tell you about it over the weekend but she didn’t get the chance to.” Roz explained.

“And all of you know about it already?”

“I only know because I know Nick goes to that Academy.” Varun raised his hands to placate Theo but his statement had otherwise effect than desired.

“You met Nick over this weekend and you learn more about him and my friend that I do?”

“Theo…” Varun got up from his place but Theo had already stormed out.

The one thing Sabrina had learned about the Academy in the past twenty-four hours was that Nick knew the place a little too well and if he did not want Sabrina to find him, she could not, no matter how much she tried. Sitting around the weird sisters at lunch table, engulfed in chatter she felt absolutely alone and she could not stop thinking about the past weeks when Nick was always there, always around. She knew she missed him and not just because she wanted to clear his misunderstanding about his parents, but because she did not know life at the Academy without him.

When the news about the play practice having been cancelled in lieu of preparations for the Feast of Feasts, she dejectedly trudged to the dormitory, having decided to pack up and head to the mortuary for the week, she could always ride with Aunt Zelda for classes the next day. She had just stuffed a couple of clothes in her overnight bag when a bright light flashed and a paper fluttered onto her bed. Picking it up, she read the message on it – ‘ _Lonely stump in the forest._ ’ Regardless of the fact that it was unsigned, she knew very well who it was from and she ran.

Nick was sitting on the stump, a book open in his hands, though it did not look like he was paying any attention to it.

“Varun sent a message. Roz is having surgery over the weekend and she would like you to be there and Theo knows something, I’m not sure what, so you need to handle that too.” Nick rattled off before Sabrina even made her presence known and picked up his bag, declaring the conversation over.

“Nick wait…” Sabrina grabbed onto his arm, wanting to stop him from leaving once again, searching his face for an ounce of the happiness that radiated from him when she was around but he did not even meet her gaze.

“I’m heading home tonight. I’ll only be back on Monday. I’ve had a long conversation with Sister Zelda. While she is not happy with me being gone for so long, she understands. You can practice without me for a while.”

“Nick, talk to me.” When Nick looked up all she could see that he was broken, and all she wanted to do was gather him in her arms.

“Sabrina I need to know the truth about everything. I don’t think I can live with this on my head. I am going to go home and find out what really happened when your parents died.”

“Nick you don’t have to. I won’t say it doesn’t matter but nothing that happened back then was your fault.”

“And what if it was my parents’?” Nick pulled Sabrina’s hand off his arm and stood before her. “I can’t stand before you, look at you, and know in my heart that parents could be the reason you suffered so much in life, not when you’re my… my best friend.” Nick put a hand on her cheek and brushed away the tear she did not know had fallen down. Sabrina knew there was something else that he wasn’t saying, something that he was hesitating over but before she could ask he took a step back and without a word teleported away leaving Sabrina to dwell in her misery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I need to get to Batibat soonish but I need your opinions on:  
> 1\. Do you want me to cover the Feast? There's no cannibalism happening in the coven yet. It doesn't fit in with my version of the storyline but I could always create an AU version to the episode, that's been my speciality so far.  
> 2\. Do you want to see how Nick's search for the truth over the weekend goes? It will be touched upon in later episodes so I don't want to make repetitions.  
> As always, thanks for your time.


	17. Feast of Feasts

_"Dear Nicholas,_

_You’re mean and cruel and infuriating to leave me in the middle of such mess and I can’t even be mad at you for not being here. I don’t know how much of all of this you’ve heard from Varun or Prudence, but plenty of times in the past days I have looked over my shoulder to share a glance with you knowing that you’d be feeling the same and realized you were not there. Maybe if we hadn’t had that conversation before you left I wouldn’t be feeling your absence so intensely, or maybe I would be, who is to know. Coming back to the calamity that was this weekend, well, let me start at the very beginning…_

By the time Sabrina trudged up the road to the mortuary, it was already nightfall and the fog was making the place look like her gloom personified, so it was not a welcomed surprise to find lamb entrails nailed to the main door of the house. She grumbled and stalked up the stairs.

“Aunties! Ambrose! Why does it look like someone nailed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to our door?” She bellowed out as she stepped into the house and shrugged out of her jacket. The four other occupants of the house waltzed out of the different rooms, more surprised at finding Sabrina in the foyer than the bloody mess on the door.

“Uh, dear, I’ll get some soap and sponges.” Hilda sniggered before walking towards the kitchen. “And welcome home, lovely.”

“And I’ll get a plastic bag to collect the lamb entrails. Come, Salem.” Ambrose passed a cheeky wink to his sister before heading to the embalming room.

“It’s a message from the Council, Sabrina. It means our family has been selected to participate in the Court at this year’s Feast of Feasts.” Zelda nonchalantly waved off the worried expression on Sabrina’s face as she came down the stairs. “Now tell me, child, why are you here already? You do realize you still have school tomorrow before the Feast Holiday begins, don’t you?”

“It’s just one day, I thought I could just ride with you to the Academy tomorrow. Besides, I only have two classes in the morning. Now, what is a Feast Court?” Sabrina followed her aunt into the kitchen while her cousin gingerly pulled the innards off the door while Hilda talked about making a soup out of them.

“You obviously know all about Sister Freyja the Strong and the single greatest sacrifice that was ever made for the good of our coven.” Zelda sat down at the head of the table while Ambrose helped Hilda clean the guts in the kitchen sink.

“Obviously Aunt Zee. I might have gone to a mortal school but you both have homeschooled me in Church education thoroughly. The great winter when the fourteen witches were chased out of Greendale and stranded in the forest with nothing to eat. To save her sisters from starvation, Sister Freyja the youngest and the strongest sacrificed herself to provide sustenance for the rest of the coven to survive the winter.”

“Praise Freyja, may we meet again.” Hilda said with a content smile on her face.

“Praise Freyja.” The rest around the table echoed.

“You both tell me this story every year before we begin eating on Feast Day. But you have never told me about the Court.” Sabrina said as she tried to swat at Ambrose who wiped his wet hands on her shoulders.

“Well every year, Zelda and I skip the festivities after the unholy mass in favour of eating at home with the both of you, so we haven’t participated in the celebrations of the court for decades.”

“Sister Freyja has forever been hailed a queen for the sacrifice she made for the Church of Night and the coven, and the Feast of Feast is an annual demonstration of our devotion to the Dark Lord. Fourteen families from the coven are selected to be a part of the lottery, and the families then choose someone to represent them, a tribute.”

“Only ladies are eligible because…” Ambrose began to say before he was cut off by Zelda.

“Because it’s the Dark Lord’s will.”

‘…because he’s sexist and misogynistic.’ Ambrose mouthed towards Sabrina who suppressed a smile.

“In any case, the tributes then draw lots to see who will win the honour of being the Queen and the other thirteen witches are the court of the Queen, with one being selected as the handmaiden.”

“Well, what do you get as Queen?”

“The honour of representing Queen Freyja and to be revered as her for the day, of course.”

“And, you get to be the main course of the day.” Ambrose knocked on the table with a chuckle.

“WhAT!” Sabrina’s eyes shot up into her brows.

“Oh shush, that used to happen before your Father petitioned to the council and had it outlawed to maintain the numbers of over coven since we were dwindling already. Now it’s only symbolic. The Queen’s blood is made part of the feast but nobody is killed or sacrificed, even though plenty members of the coven would love if that tradition came back.” Zelda shrugged as she got up from her place putting an end to the conversation and fetch herself a nightcap.

“Wait, are we seriously talking about cannibalism?”

“It’s not unlike the Donner Party.”

“But that was a dire situation back then. Why did we still follow it till like a couple of decades ago? And, witches used to participate in it willingly?”

“It is a sacred tradition Sabrina. It was our obligation to not question it. The decision to outlaw was only made to keep the already lessened numbers of our coven from dwindling further. Some other covens still celebrate it like it was so many years ago.”

“But nobody is starving now and we are talking about murder here!”

“Ritual sacrifice, dear sister. It’s different.”

“Sabrina it’s not happening in our coven, so would you hold your horses now.” Zelda snapped at her niece as she poured herself a stiff drink of scotch. “Since I am the matriarch of this family, I shall represent the Spellmans at tomorrow night’s drawing.”

“No no, Aunt Zelda. I want to. It’ll be my first Feast with the Coven as a full member of the Church of Night. Being a part of the Court will make it even more special. And imagine if I get selected as Queen!”

“That’s a sweet daydream Sabrina but your Aunt Hilda and I have participated in many lotteries over the years and the Dark Lord has never seen fit to reward the family with one of us being Queen. I don’t believe anything will be different this year either. So, I shall be the one representing the family, and that is final.” Zelda gulped down the drink in one go and walked out of the kitchen with the bottle in hand, not looking one bit happy about the decision she had just announced while the rest of the family look at her retreating back in confusion.

“Uh, darlings, go freshen up for dinner, I guess.” Hilda stood from her place, shooing the kids away and heading to the oven to check on the roast she had left in there before Sabrina came home.

 

Sabrina was not looking forward to being alone in her room after dinner, with the thoughts of Nick and their conversation weighing on her mind still mixed with confusion at her Aunt Zelda’s behaviour. Ambrose watched her slowly trudge up the stairs disinterestedly and made a mental note to go and talk to her after the aunts had gone off to sleep.

Sabrina walked into her room to find her phone that she had hurriedly thrown on the bed when she had brought her things in before dinner ringing loudly. She picked it up to see an unknown number flashing on the screen, confusing her as she hesitantly picked the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello Sabrina, I am surprised the call went through what with the cell reception at the Academy. This is Varun.”

“Hi, Varun…” Sabrina was even more confused than she was before she picked the call.

“Uh, my family is having an evening bonfire and movie thing tomorrow and my parents asked me to invite my friends. I used to invite Nick to this but since he’s not here and my parents do not remember him, I thought I’ll invite Theo, Harvey, and Roz to this. And then I thought I’ll call you too. I mean you’ll get a chance to sort things out with Theo…”

“Right… Nick told me you gave him a message about something going wrong with Theo…”

“Well, Roz and I were talking and Theo overheard and we were talking about your school being nearby so Roz had to tell him that you are not in Connecticut and it just got out of hand. Roz is already freaked out because of her surgery this weekend and I don’t think she can handle this too.” Sabrina pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to gather herself.

“Thanks for telling me all this Varun. You’re a really good friend, to not just Nick, to me, to Theo, to Roz… even to Harvey. Thank you.”

“Sheesh, you’re going to make me blush, Sabrina.” Varun said making her chuckle.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Varun.” Sabrina said with a smile before cutting the call and throwing herself onto her bed to take a few minutes of rest before she began to tackle the Acheron again.

 

“Zelds, are you alright?” Hilda walked into their room, shutting the door behind her halfway and put the plate of food she had brought up for her sister on the table. “You skipped dinner.”

“I am not at all in the mood to eat Hilda.” Zelda waved her sister away as she brought the tumbler of amber liquid up to her lips and Hilda noticed that the glass decanter was almost empty beside her.

“Why did you stop Sabrina from participating in tomorrow’s drawing? I had thought you’d be happy to let her have the honour of the Court.” Hilda sat on the bed opposite to Zelda’s chair and regarded her sister with sincerity.

“Father Blackwood has been hinting that he wishes to bring the sacrifice back for so many years and now that he also has the position of the Headmaster of the Academy, I believe he has already convinced the council to bring it back.  I have heard him mention this to a few teachers at the Academy. There will be a sacrifice this Feast day Hilda, and I couldn’t let my niece, let our daughter go in there knowing that.”

“Oh Zelds!” Hilda reached forward and hugged her sister.

“There there Hilda, don’t be sappy now. It’s not like I’m dying tomorrow. What I said was the truth, the Dark Lord will never see us fit to have that crown. This family has offended him in too many ways.” Zelda patted her sister’s arm and removed herself from her grasp.

Ambrose who was walking down the corridor on his way to Sabrina’s room at stuttered in his way when he had overheard the aunties talking. He stood outside their door, obscured in the shadows and wondered if this was a secret he should keep from Sabrina, before deciding otherwise.

 

“Ambrose we can’t let Aunty Zee participate in this!” Sabrina shot out of her spot on the bed when Ambrose told her everything he had overheard their aunts discussing. “This is a stupid tradition and Blackwood is stupider for wanting to bring it back.” Ambrose had shut the door with the flick of his wrist when Sabrina had begun to shout worried that she was going to say something exactly akin to what she was.

“I agree wholeheartedly with you sister, but there are many in the coven who believe that it’s our sacred duty to follow the path that the Dark Lord sets for us and if sacrifice is one to strengthen the bonds of the coven then there’s nothing wrong in it. I, of course, think that that’s absolute bullshit but I am a warlock on house arrest and you’re a new full witch. What can the two of us do?”

“I’ll find us help, till then can you find us a way to opt-out of this drawing or just stop it altogether?”

“I’ll do some research, but I can’t be sure that I will find something.” Ambrose sat up from where he was lying on the bed and patted his sister on the head before walking out and leaving Sabrina with too much on her plate. It had barely been twelve hours since Nick had left and Sabrina was feeling his absence so acutely that it was beginning to feel like actual heartburn.

 

“I can’t believe you’re one of the fourteen tributes, Prudence.” Agatha was more excited than Sabrina had ever seen her show in emotions as the three witches joined Sabrina early in the Incantations classroom before the lecture.

“Why not, all night long I prayed and prayed to the Dark Lord didn’t I?” Prudence gushed as she sat down next to Sabrina.

“But so did I.” Agatha and Dorcas said in unison as they took their places next to the two of them.

“Don’t be jealous girls, maybe it’ll be your turn next year.”

“Wait, Prudence, you’re a part of this lottery tonight?” Sabrina quirked her eyes at the witch sitting next to her.

“There were entrails on her bed.” Agatha and Dorcas chimed in together.

“Of course she’s always been lucky that way.” Dorcas sighed.

“The council chose her personally instead of the Orphanage. I guess we will never be a family in their eyes.” Agatha rolled her eyes.

“If only the sacrifice hadn’t been outlawed. I wasn’t lucky enough to be a part of the coven before that.”

“Lucky? Hang on. You actually wanted to be sacrificed?”

“More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

“But that’s insane. Why?”

“You wouldn’t understand, half breed. It was your father after all who changed a long-standing tradition of this coven. But there is no greater honour.” Prudence chastised her, the remnants of the old Prudence showing through.

“Imagine an orphan being Queen.” Dorcas said dreamily from next to Sabrina.

“But you’ll get to crowned Queen without the sacrifice.”

“Without the sacrifice, there is hardly any meaning to that crown. Sigh, nevertheless, I shall satisfy myself with just the crown.”

“If only Nick was here to see you being crowned.” Dorcas had apparently gotten lost in a very elaborate daydream.

“He wouldn’t let you do it, would he?”

“Well if the sacrifice was still happening, no. He is a “conscientious objector” as he likes to call himself. I think he fell further in love with your father when he learnt of it being outlawed in our coven. He has still been trying his best to have it banned in his coven. What about you Sabrina, did your family get to be one of the lucky ones?”

“We did, but my aunt Zelda is putting herself forward.” Sabrina said worriedly, wondering if she should tell Prudence about the fact the Blackwood was bringing the sacrifice back but she wasn’t sure if that was going to change anything in how the Weird Sisters viewed it.

 

Sabrina had spent the entire day in the library reading up about the Feast festivities around the world and though she came across plenty instances of covens that still followed and revered the barbaric practice, she came across occasional stories of when covens had decided to do away with the practice. Sabrina had been exhausted doing the research all alone and more than once wondered if she should astral project to Nick to ask him for help but his last words kept ringing in her mind _“I can’t stand before you, look at you…”_ till she decided that she would give him his space.

After hours of poring through books with nothing newfound, Sabrina put her bag over her shoulder and decided to head to Varun’s bonfire before she heads to church for the unholy mass.

 _‘I can’t find a single thing telling how to opt-out of this wretched thing.’_ – Read a message from Ambrose as Sabrina walked up the stairs to the porch of the Patel household, the sounds of a party already emanating from the backyard.

 _‘We don’t have enough time. I’m going to hijack aunty and offer myself as a tribute.’_ – Sabrina shot back a reply before plastering a happy smile on her face and ringing the doorbell. The door was pulled open by a boy who looked very much like Varun but was obviously not him.

“Uh, I’m Sabrina, Varun’s friend.”

“Hello, Sabrina. Tarun…” The boy stepped aside and gestured for her to come in. “I am Varun’s older brother.”

“Oh yeah. You played for the football team too right.”

“I’m surprised you know. You guys were still in junior high by the time I went to college.”

“Ni… uh… Varun told me.”

“Well, the boy in question is out in the back with his two other friends.” Tarun pointed towards the open door leading to the backyard just as someone called out from him from what looked like the kitchen. “I’ll see you around.”

Sabrina stepped out on the back porch to see the seemingly large backyard filled with a sparse amount of people most of whom were a lot of older people. The Patels were the main general physicians in their quaint little town and it seemed like they were friendlier than Sabrina had ever imagined any of her friends’ parents could be. She noticed Theo, Varun, and Roz hanging out in a corner over an old swing set. Varun was looking like a giant sitting on the swing as he talked to Roz who sat in a chair that had been pulled up and Theo who sat on the armrest of the chair.

“Hey, Sabrina!” Varun stood up with some problem after extracting himself from the swing and excitedly waved as she made her way to them.

“Hi, Sabrina…” Theo said half-heartedly and Roz lightly slapped him on his arm.

“Hi, guys. Harvey isn’t here yet?”

“He is… he went to the kitchen to get us drinks. Apparently he is still too apologetic for hurting me so I can’t pull the host card on him and get him to act like a guest.” Varun shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.

“When did you come home, Sabrina?” Theo asked.

“I uh, came last night.”

“Didn’t you have classes today?” Theo looked at her pointedly and Sabrina wondered if she was going to have this conversation with him right then. She was about to recite the silencing charm to shroud the four of them when Harvey walked towards them.

“Hey, Sabrina.” Harvey said in a chilled tone as he passed the drinks to Varun, Roz, and Theo and decided to give his own to Sabrina.

“Hey, Harvey.” Sabrina was rethinking her acceptance of Varun’s invite amidst then tenseness of the scene before her but she realized that sooner rather than later she would have had had to face the music. She just wished Nick was standing by her side when that happened.

“Varun you still haven’t told us the reason for this party.” Roz spoke attempting to cut the tense silence that was lingering on.

“Well, it’s a long story.” Varun said with a sigh as he retook his place on the swing when none of his guests decided to. “So back in India, we have a major festival that happens this time of the year. It’s like Christmas for Hindus; it’s called Diwali…”

“The festival of lights…” Theo chimed in. “We read about it in World Religion.”

“Yeah. So it was ten days ago and we have this long five-day celebration. But since nobody gets the time off to celebrate it, my family came up with this tradition ages ago that we will do everything that is done during the Diwali week over Thanksgiving weekend since we don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a whole thing of too much praying and too many relatives. So in lieu of me and my brother acting like good Indian boys, they let us throw this one party the day before thanksgiving. But… over the years they have hijacked this party too. Tarun used to turn this party into a massive thing with his football buddies and our parents used to go for a nice long date but when he moved out to go to college, I did not want to party like he used to I would invite a few people over for a bonfire and movie night. Then my parents began inviting their friends to it too. And now this is the Frankenstein’s monster that this event has become.”

“You’re the weirdest jock I’ve seen at Baxter High.” Harvey laughed.

“Thanks, man, really appreciate the compliment.” Varun clinked his bottle of root beer with Harvey’s before taking a long swig.

“I thought you were going to invite Nick too. Isn’t he coming?” Roz asked.

“Who is this Nick guy I have heard you guys mention him a few times by now.”

“He is a friend of Sabrina’s from this weird Academy of hers. He came with her last time when she met us at Cee’s.” Theo looked pointedly at Sabrina waiting for her reaction and missed the sharp intake of breath that stiffened Harvey.

“He has gone back home for Thanksgiving.” Sabrina answered.

“He is not from Greendale? Or well whichever town in Connecticut you guys go to school in? Where is he from?”

“You know, it’s weird but I don’t know. I forgot to ask him.” Sabrina chuckled to herself as she realized that she actually did not know where his home was or where his coven lived.

“You don’t know or you don’t want to tell us like all these other secrets that you’re hiding from us?” Theo spat.

“Theo… I am not…”

“Sabrina don’t lie to him.” Harvey cut in. “Tell him the truth, he deserves to know.”

“Sabrina, what is he talking about? What are all of them talking about… just tell me.” Theo looked on his wit's end as Sabrina took a deep breath and whispered a few words under her breath.

“Theo… I am a witch.”

“Ha ha right, very funny. You know what, if you don’t want to tell me, then fine, keep your secrets and your lies, I am done.” Theo stood up and walked off.

“Theo…” Varun stood up to go after him but Sabrina stopped him as she walked after her friend. Theo has decided to walk out the side gate and Sabrina had run after him to catch up.

“Theo wait.” Sabrina put a hand on his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Theo…”

“Sabrina, you can have secrets. I can’t come after you for that. Friends don’t have secrets fine but sometimes people need to keep secrets, and no one knows it better than me, but… Roz knows, Harvey knows… heck, even Varun knows. It can’t be a very well kept secret if so many people know then why can’t I? Am I not worthy enough friend to you?” Theo’s voice cracked as he looked at his oldest friend and wondered if this was the end of this friendship.

“Theo…” Sabrina had tears in her eyes and she would have scoffed at the irony that each time she had to tell her friends the truth she had been driven to tears, if only she had stopped to ponder at it. “In the beginning, it wasn’t about Roz being worthy or Harvey being one… long ago this secret was not meant to come out.” Sabrina sat down on the edge of the pavement and after a few seconds Theo sat down too. “I made a lot of mistakes and the end result of it was a lot of people getting hurt. I wanted to tell you about it last weekend. It hurt me too much to keep it from both you and Roz. But I couldn’t come to talk to you till I dealt with Billy just to lessen the guilt of having left you guys here… Theo… I wasn’t lying…” Sabrina picked up a brown leaf from the road and closed her eyes, tightly grasping the leaf in her palm enough to hear the crinkle of it breaking. When she opened her eyes, she put her palm before Theo and as she opened her fist, the leaf began changing its colour, it went from brown to orange to green and in the blink of an eye, it was a freshly plucked leaf. “I am a witch.” Theo looked Sabrina and then the leaf in her hand and then back at her again making her chuckle between her tears.

“Wow Sabrina, this is amazing!” Theo jumped and hugged a very surprised witch in excitement.

“You’re okay with this?”

“Uh, you can do magic. What’s not to be okay with?”

“There are certain other things that come with being a witch…”

“Like?”

“I worship Satan.”

“For real?”

“Yeah…”

“That’s…”

“Weird?”

“Yeah, kind of. Do you mind?”

“Umm… I don’t know.”

“Are we still friends then?” Sabrina looked over at Theo knowing that this was going to be a turning point in their friendship.

“Yeah… We are still friends.” Theo smiled up at his friend who had finally relaxed a little. “But just in case I had said no, would you have wiped my memory?” Theo looked at her cheekily and checked her shoulder.

“Maybe…” Sabrina pushed back and two broke into peels of laughter. Once the laughter subsided the two of them stood up to see Varun leaning against a nearby tree.

“I guess everything is sorted between the two of you. Because my parents are about to bring out the marshmallows for the s’mores and I’d rather you two not miss that.” Varun said from his spot.

“Yeah everything is fine.” Theo said with a slight blush before a thought struck him. “But how do you know about Sabrina’s secret?”

“Because Nick is a warlock who went to our school for two years and before he left to go study at Sabrina’s posh magic school he wiped everyone’s memory of him except for me.” Varun rattled off in a bored manner making Sabrina laugh.

“Seriously?!” Theo’s eyes went wide as saucers as he looked between Sabrina and Varun who both nodded together. “You go to Hogwarts!” Theo exclaimed as he grabbed onto Sabrina’s arm.

“Well now that you know about Nick, you be the one to tell Roz. I am not repeating that story again.” Varun smacked Theo on his back as they walked back to the party.

Sabrina desperately wished that this was all there was to her night and that she did not have to go to the unholy mass and the drawing but she had to, so after a couple of s’mores and a few excuses to Varun’s parents about some pre-Thanksgiving traditions at home she left the party in high spirits, jovial enough to not notice the man that had been giving her grave looks all evening.

 

As the mass dwindled down and the youngsters of the church began to prepare the altar for the places for the Court, the families began to chatter amongst themselves.

“Sister Spellman… Blessed Feast Day to you.” Father Blackwood said as he approached where the three Spellmans sat. “I have heard that the Spellman family has been selected to be a part of the Court this year.”

“Yes, Father Blackwood. The Spellmans have been thrilled to receive this honour from the Council.”

“And who is going to be the tribute from your family for the drawing?” Sabrina looked at her aunt and decided to take her chance before she could say anything.

“I am, Father Blackwood.” The moment Sabrina spoke up, Zelda looked at her niece is such great alarm that even Blackwood noticed.

“Oh, that’s marvellous Ms. Spellman. Getting the chance to be on the Court at your very first official feast! Your father would have been proud of you!”

“Thank you Father…” Sabrina said as she met the eye of her aunt who was seething with anger at her insolence. “If you’d please excuse me, I have something to discuss with Prudence.” Sabrina skipped out the grasp of Zelda as she tried to stop her from leaving and headed to where the sisters were chatting amongst themselves.

“Prudence, can I talk to you for a second.” Sabrina put a light hand on her arm and steered her to a corner.

“What is Sabrina?”

“I didn’t want you going into this blind. Father Blackwood is going to overturn the ban on the sacrifice tonight. This year’s feast will be a bloody one.” Sabrina spoke in a hushed voice that was drained by the address that Father Blackwood had begun to give.

“How…? Well, that doesn’t change anything, but nevertheless, thanks for telling me. I assume you must be worried for your aunt. This is a great honour Sabrina and one she should take with a grateful heart if she a given.”

“I can’t agree with you Prudence on that. But yes I was worried for my Aunt, so I have taken this honour upon myself regardless of the fact whether it is something I should be grateful for or not.” Sabrina gave her a tight smile and walked towards the dais where the tributes that begun to gather as the box of the lottery was passed. Prudence looked at Sabrina in amazement as she went and stood next to her.

“…even the humblest of us can be elevated to sit next to the Dark Lord. And in respect of this time-honoured tradition, I believe there is an announcement I must make. The sacrifice that was long ago banned from our coven, with the view that we did not have enough numbers to safeguard the existence of this coven if we continued to sacrifice our own kind without the need to, I am happy to tell you that now the time has come to bring back the one thing that reminds us that the life of an individual witch does not trump over that of the coven. This year and in all the years to come, we will once again have the honour to sacrifice ourselves just like Freyja did. Praise Freyja!” The desecrated hall was silent for a second before the chants of “Praise Freyja” and “Hail Satan” filled the room. “Sisters let the Dark Lord’s will be revealed.” Father Blackwood ordered as the crowds fell silent once again and the fourteen who stood at the altar put the papers in their hands to the flames of the candles before them and Sabrina drew a sharp breath when hers burnt red.

_Well since I am writing this letter to you two days after the Feast of Feasts, it’s safe to say that I wasn’t chosen Queen. Red means handmaiden as you would already know. And as for the Queen… It was Prudence. She however is still very much alive too. How we achieved that, let’s get into that now, shall we?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I will be posting two more chapters this week. Fingers crossed.
> 
> This part of the story until Nick comes back will be interspersed with the letter than Sabrina is writing to Nick. Please tell me how you like the idea and if I should add more to the letters or skip the idea itself.
> 
> At one point in time, I had wanted to finish this story before Part 3 happened, but I don't think that will be possible. So let's see how much I can put out before the 24th. I have an exam on the 25th so I'm quite strapped for time.
> 
> In other news, I'm reading Daughter of Chaos and is it just me or does it read like another fanfiction instead of a part of the show?

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a trial really. I had this idea but I don't really know how to execute it, so I wrote a bit and now I'm throwing it out into the vast oceans of the internet to be critiqued. Let me know how good or bad it really is. Any help to make this better will be much appreciated with protection enchantments and chocolates thrown across the void for you.  
> Yes, the title is from Salman Rushdie's novel of the same name. No similarities though, however, how amazing would it be if that's how Sabrina went into hell to get back Nick ala Orpheus?  
> 


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